How severe is CVE-2023-43657?

CVE-2023-43657 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.2, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2023-43657 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (39th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-43657?

CVE-2023-43657 affects Discourse Discourse-encrypt. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2023-43657?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2023-43657 published?

CVE-2023-43657 was published on 2023-09-28 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2023-43657

CVE-2023-43657 is a high-severity vulnerability in Discourse Discourse-encrypt with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.2. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-79.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.2)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (39th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-79
Affected product: Discourse Discourse-encrypt
Published: 2023-09-28
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

discourse-encrypt is a plugin that provides a secure communication channel through Discourse. Improper escaping of encrypted topic titles could lead to a cross site scripting (XSS) issue when a site has content security policy (CSP) headers disabled. Having CSP disabled is a non-default configuration, and having it disabled with discourse-encrypt installed will result in a warning in the Discourse admin dashboard. This has been fixed in commit `9c75810af9` which is included in the latest version of the discourse-encrypt plugin. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should ensure that CSP headers are enabled and properly configured.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-43657?: discourse-encrypt is a plugin that provides a secure communication channel through Discourse. Improper escaping of encrypted topic titles could lead to a cross site scripting (XSS) issue when a site has content security policy (CSP) headers disabled. Having CSP disabled is a non-default configuration, and having it disabled with discourse-encrypt installed will result in a warning in the Discourse admin dashboard. This has been fixed in commit `9c75810af9` which is included in the latest version of the discourse-encrypt plugin. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should ensure that CSP headers are enabled and properly configured.
How severe is CVE-2023-43657?: CVE-2023-43657 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.2, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2023-43657 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (39th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-43657?: CVE-2023-43657 affects Discourse Discourse-encrypt. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2023-43657?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2023-43657 published?: CVE-2023-43657 was published on 2023-09-28 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:discourse:discourse-encrypt:*:*:*:*:*:discourse:*:*

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