How severe is CVE-2026-23643?

CVE-2026-23643 has a CVSS score of 5.4/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-23643?

CVE-2026-23643 affects the following packages: cakephp/cakephp (Packagist), cakephp/cakephp (Packagist). Ecosystems affected: Packagist.

How do I fix CVE-2026-23643?

Update cakephp/cakephp to 5.2.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-23643 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2026-23643 in my Packagist dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for cakephp/cakephp, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-23643 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

Is CVE-2026-23643 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-23643 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2026-23643?

CVE-2026-23643 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.3%, placing it in the 21th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-23643?

CVE-2026-23643 is classified as Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (CWE-79). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2026-23643 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-23643 was published on January 16, 2026 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐘

🐘 Packagist

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2026-23643 — cakephp

MEDIUMFix: cakephp/cakephp@c842e7f

CVE-2026-23643 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.4) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in cakephp/cakephp. A fix is available for cakephp/cakephp — see the affected versions and patch details below.

CakePHP PaginatorHelper::limitControl() vulnerable to reflected cross-site-scripting

Also known asGHSA-qh8m-9qxx-53m5

Published

Jan 16, 2026

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 6, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-23643.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs21th percentile — riskier than 21% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected

🐘cakephp/cakephp🐘cakephp/cakephp

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Impact

The PaginatorHelper::limitControl() method has a cross-site-scripting vulnerability via query string parameter manipulation.

Patches

This issue has been fixed in 5.2.12 and 5.3.1

Workarounds

If you are unable to upgrade, you should avoid using Paginator::limitControl() until you can upgrade.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐘Packagist	`cakephp/cakephp`	≥ 5.2.10&&< 5.2.12	5.2.12`composer require cakephp/cakephp:^5.2.12`
🐘Packagist	`cakephp/cakephp`	≥ 5.3.0&&< 5.3.1	5.3.1`composer require cakephp/cakephp:^5.3.1`

Affected Products

1 product · 2 configurations

Application

cakephpcakephp

≥ 5.2.10 && < 5.2.12

1 version

5.3.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for cakephp/cakephp, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update cakephp/cakephp to 5.2.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-23643 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact The `PaginatorHelper::limitControl()` method has a cross-site-scripting vulnerability via query string parameter manipulation. ### Patches This issue has been fixed in 5.2.12 and 5.3.1 ### Workarounds If you are unable to upgrade, you should avoid using `Paginator::limitControl()` until you can upgrade.