CVE-2026-121008SQL-Abstract cross-site scripting
CVE-2026-121008 is a cross-site scripting in SQL-Abstract, rated medium (5.4 on CVSS 3.1).
Why this priority: Medium severity, with no exploitation signal.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Received
What it is
Input is written into a web page without escaping, so an attacker's script runs in the browser of anyone who views it.
How it is reached
An attacker can exploit it over the network, with an ordinary user account, but someone has to act first, such as opening a file or following a link.
What an attacker gains
The direct impact is limited: partial access to data or a partial outage. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker act inside a signed-in user's browser session. The damage can spread past the vulnerable component into others.
Is it being exploited?
There is no public report of exploitation yet. EPSS estimates a 0.17% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 7% of scored CVEs.
What to do
- Upgrade SQL-Abstract to 2.000001_04 or later.
- Until it is patched, review who holds accounts that can reach it.
- Warn the people who use it, and filter files and links on the way in.
Description from NVD
SQL::Abstract::Tree versions before 2.000001_04 for Perl allow cross-site scripting via unescaped SQL text and bind values in the html profile.
The html profile wraps keywords and placeholders in span elements and breaks lines with br elements, so its output is meant to go into a page as is. The format method does not HTML-escape the SQL text or the bind values it fills in around that markup.
An application that renders SQL formatted with the html profile, such as in a debug panel or query log, allows an attacker who controls a bind value or part of the SQL text to embed JavaScript in the page.
What this means for your architecture.
A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.
Components it touches
- Web front ends and single-page apps. The flaw sits between a user's browser and the web application.
- Admin consoles served to a browser. The flaw sits between a user's browser and the web application.
Trust boundaries in play
- Authenticated network access. An account is needed, so exposure follows who can sign in: customers, partners or staff.
- People who open files and links. Mail, chat and browsers are the delivery path.
- Isolation between components. The impact crosses out of the vulnerable component into others it should be isolated from.
- Between a user's browser and the web application. An attacker who crosses it can act inside a signed-in user's browser session.
Questions to answer about your own systems
- Where does SQL-Abstract run in your systems, and at which version?
- Which of those instances can be reached from the internet or partner networks?
- What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
Read more
Sources
- CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
- Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.