How severe is CVE-2026-40479?

CVE-2026-40479 has a CVSS score of 5.4/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which products are affected by CVE-2026-40479?

Affected package information for CVE-2026-40479 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I patch CVE-2026-40479?

Apply the kimai kimai security patch or hotfix for CVE-2026-40479 on the affected version, following the vendor advisory for your exact build.

How do I detect CVE-2026-40479 across my infrastructure?

Inventory every kimai kimai deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above. Because the exploit targets the running system rather than your application code, also watch for exploitation at the network and runtime layer — O3 flags the exploit behaviour from runtime telemetry and egress traffic even before a vulnerable build is confirmed.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-40479 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Cut exposure now: restrict the management/admin interface to trusted networks, segment the device, and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations and any WAF/IPS signature. O3's runtime protection blocks the exploit chain at execution, holding the line on unpatched or end-of-life systems until you can patch.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2026-40479?

O3 detects and blocks CVE-2026-40479 exploitation at runtime: eBPF exploit-chain detection, plus L7 egress monitoring that catches the post-exploitation callback and severs the attacker's outbound channel.

Is CVE-2026-40479 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-40479 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-2026-40479?

CVE-2026-40479 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.2%, placing it in the 11th 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-2026-40479?

CVE-2026-40479 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.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2026-40479?

CVE-2026-40479 affects kimai kimai. Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2026-40479 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-40479 was published on April 17, 2026 and was last updated on June 17, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2026-40479: KIMAI Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (Medium 5.4)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk11th percentile+0.19%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

Kimai is an open-source time tracking application. In versions 1.16.3 through 2.52.0, the escapeForHtml() function in KimaiEscape.js does not escape double quote or single quote characters. When a user's profile alias is inserted into an HTML attribute context via the team member form prototype and rendered through innerHTML, this incomplete escaping allows HTML attribute injection. An authenticated user with ROLE_USER privileges can store a malicious alias that executes JavaScript in the browser of any administrator viewing the team form, resulting in stored XSS with privilege escalation. This issue has been fixed in version 2.53.0.

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

kimaikimai

< 2.53.0

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Vendor / appliance

Detect
Inventory every kimai kimai deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above. Because the exploit targets the running system rather than your application code, also watch for exploitation at the network and runtime layer — O3 flags the exploit behaviour from runtime telemetry and egress traffic even before a vulnerable build is confirmed.
Fix
Apply the kimai kimai security patch or hotfix for CVE-2026-40479 on the affected version, following the vendor advisory for your exact build.
Workarounds
Cut exposure now: restrict the management/admin interface to trusted networks, segment the device, and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations and any WAF/IPS signature. O3's runtime protection blocks the exploit chain at execution, holding the line on unpatched or end-of-life systems until you can patch.
How O3 protects you
O3 detects and blocks CVE-2026-40479 exploitation at runtime: eBPF exploit-chain detection, plus L7 egress monitoring that catches the post-exploitation callback and severs the attacker's outbound channel.

Tailored to CVE-2026-40479. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Kimai is an open-source time tracking application. In versions 1.16.3 through 2.52.0, the escapeForHtml() function in KimaiEscape.js does not escape double quote or single quote characters. When a user's profile alias is inserted into an HTML attribute context via the team member form prototype and rendered through innerHTML, this incomplete escaping allows HTML attribute injection. An authenticated user with ROLE_USER privileges can store a malicious alias that executes JavaScript in the browser of any administrator viewing the team form, resulting in stored XSS with privilege escalation. Thi

O3 Security · Runtime Protection

Is CVE-2026-40479 being exploited in your environment?

O3's eBPF runtime sensors and L7 egress monitoring detect and block the CVE-2026-40479 exploit chain at execution — protecting unpatched and end-of-life systems until the vendor patch is applied.

Protect my workloads How runtime protection works

CVE-2026-40479

EPSS Exploitation Probability

Description

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Fix

Workarounds

How O3 protects you

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2026-40479 being exploited in your environment?