CVE-2026-85271: XSS (CVSS 6.1)

Description

Open edX Platform enables the authoring and delivery of online learning at any scale. From Redwood until Ulmo and Verawood.1, the add_additional_attributes_to_notifications function in openedx/core/djangoapps/notifications/email/utils.py assigns notification content without sanitizing discussion-title values produced by get_notification_content in openedx/core/djangoapps/notifications/base_notification.py. An enrolled student can place CSS-capable markup in the post_title value supplied by lms/djangoapps/discussion/rest_api/discussions_notifications.py. Digest and batched-email rendering then passes that value through openedx/core/djangoapps/notifications/templates/notifications/digest_content.html as safe HTML, allowing email-open tracking and content spoofing or phishing when another learner opens a CSS-rendering client. The immediate-email path is not affected because it strips title markup and renders a separately sanitized body. This issue is fixed in Ulmo and Verawood.1.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

6.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0035

Probability of exploitation

0.27%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-79 Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

References

Other References

https://github.com/openedx/openedx-platform/commit/2af03d21b4142e53e375c7f3699b313e92ec5121 https://github.com/openedx/openedx-platform/commit/52f2b3bb3e6fac2601c29e8f926c81498d20bb0b https://github.com/openedx/openedx-platform/commit/5eae6e51a8797cd3b87cc132f5de73d52561c4d7 https://github.com/openedx/openedx-platform/releases/tag/release/ulmo.4 https://github.com/openedx/openedx-platform/releases/tag/release/verawood.1 https://github.com/openedx/openedx-platform/security/advisories/GHSA-rv5w-f4r5-h77g

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-85271? +

Open edX Platform enables the authoring and delivery of online learning at any scale. From Redwood until Ulmo and Verawood.1, the add_additional_attributes_to_notifications function in openedx/core/djangoapps/notifications/email/utils.py assigns notification content without sanitizing discussion-title values produced by get_notification_content in openedx/core/djangoapps/notifications/base_notification.py. An enrolled student can place CSS-capable markup in the post_title value supplied by lms/djangoapps/discussion/rest_api/discussions_notifications.py. Digest and batched-email rendering then passes that value through openedx/core/djangoapps/notifications/templates/notifications/digest_content.html as safe HTML, allowing email-open tracking and content spoofing or phishing when another learner opens a CSS-rendering client. The immediate-email path is not affected because it strips title markup and renders a separately sanitized body. This issue is fixed in Ulmo and Verawood.1. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2026-85271? +

CVE-2026-85271 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.1 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance. The EPSS score is 0.0035, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-85271? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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