---
id: CVE-2026-77616
title: >-
  Semantic MediaWiki is a free, open-source extension to MediaWiki that lets
  users store and query data within the wiki's pages
summary: >-
  Semantic MediaWiki is a free, open-source extension to MediaWiki that lets
  users store and query data within the wiki's pages. In versions 7.0.0 through
  7.1.0, `Special:Ask` accepts a `cursor` query parameter for keyset pagination
  (added…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.1
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N'
cwe:
  - CWE-79
vendor: mediawiki
product: mediawiki/semantic-media-wiki
affected:
  - 'mediawiki/semantic-media-wiki >= 7.0.0, <= 7.1.0'
patched:
  - mediawiki/semantic-media-wiki 7.2.0
published: '2026-09-18'
updated: '2026-09-24'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-24T21:22:19.873'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-77616'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki/releases/tag/7.2.0'
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki/security/advisories/GHSA-cx86-7xwp-w9wf
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-cx86-7xwp-w9wf'
tags:
  - nvd
  - ghsa
  - composer
  - cve.org
epss: 0.0033
epssPercentile: 0.23308
aliases:
  - GHSA-cx86-7xwp-w9wf
ecosystem: composer
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-09-18T17:22:25.899599Z'
ingestedAt: '2026-09-18T17:46:41.524Z'
---

## Overview

Semantic MediaWiki is a free, open-source extension to MediaWiki that lets users store and query data within the wiki's pages. In versions 7.0.0 through 7.1.0, `Special:Ask` accepts a `cursor` query parameter for keyset pagination (added in 7.0.0). The token is decoded by `CursorEncoder`, which is an **unsigned** base64url-encoded JSON blob, so its contents are fully attacker-controlled. When the cursor's sort anchor does not match the request's `sort=` / `order=`, `QueryCreator::applyCursorIfRequested()` builds an error message by interpolating the attacker-controlled `sort_prop` / `sort_order` values into a raw string via `Query::addErrors()`. Unlike SMW's message-key errors, this raw string bypasses the message layer's sanitization (`ProcessingErrorMsgHandler::normalizeAndDecodeMessages()` passes a non-key, non-encoded string through unchanged). `ErrorWidget::queryError()` then assembles the errors and passes them to `Html::errorBox()`, whose first argument is emitted as raw HTML. The result is a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability: a crafted `cursor` token containing markup in `sort_prop` (or `sort_order`) executes script in the victim's browser on the wiki origin. No authentication or special permission is required. The payload is delivered via a crafted link. Version 7.2.0 contains a fix.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Package advisory (CVE-2026-77616)

Affected packages:

- `mediawiki/semantic-media-wiki >= 7.0.0, <= 7.1.0`

Patched in:

- `mediawiki/semantic-media-wiki 7.2.0`

Source: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-cx86-7xwp-w9wf