GHSA-xvv6-p4wf-mvx7 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-312 vulnerability in typo3/cms-backend. A fix is available for typo3/cms-backend — see the affected versions and patch details below.
TYPO3 CMS Stores Cleartext Password in User Settings Module
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-xvv6-p4wf-mvx7.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-xvv6-p4wf-mvx7 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
typo3/cms-backendReal-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
Problem
The backend user settings module (SetupModuleController) incorrectly conflates entity data (like passwords or email address) with user-interface settings (like theme, display options) when persisting changes. As a result, passwords were stored in cleartext in the uc and user_settings fields of the be_users database table.
The cleartext data was only persisted if users changed their credentials in the backend user settings module when the TYPO3 14.2.0 release was used (not in any other version).
Solution
Update to TYPO3 version 14.3.0 LTS which fixes the problem described.
[!IMPORTANT] Manual actions required
Updating to the patched release does not retroactively clean existing data. It is recommended to execute all User Settings upgrade wizards in the TYPO3 Install Tool, including the dedicated User Settings Scrubbing wizard, which sanitizes the incorrectly persisted cleartext values from the
ucanduser_settingsfields of thebe_userstable. Additionally, affected backend user accounts should be assigned new passwords.Admin Tools → Upgrade → Upgrade Wizard → User Settings Scrubbing
Credits
TYPO3 thanks Martin Clewing for reporting this issue, and TYPO3 core team members Oliver Hader, Stefan Bürk and Garvin Hicking for fixing it.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | typo3/cms-backend | ≥ 14.2.0&&< 14.3.0 | 14.3.0composer require typo3/cms-backend:^14.3.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for typo3/cms-backend, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update typo3/cms-backend to 14.3.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-xvv6-p4wf-mvx7 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-xvv6-p4wf-mvx7 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-xvv6-p4wf-mvx7. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-xvv6-p4wf-mvx7 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-xvv6-p4wf-mvx7 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.