Winter: Stored XSS through Brand Settings custom styles
The advisory, in context
Impact
Users with the backend.manage_branding ("Customize the back-end") permission can provide custom CSS through Settings → Customize Backend → Styles that is compiled through the LESS CSS parser and rendered on every backend page. Previously, the compiled output was not sanitized, which could have allowed a stored XSS attack.
Although this is a valid security issue, it's important to note that its severity is relatively low. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would already need to have trusted access to the Winter CMS backend with a specific administrative permission. The Winter CMS maintainers recommend that the backend.manage_branding permission only be granted to trusted administrators and developers.
A related issue exists in the custom styles field at Settings → Editor Settings → Markup Styles (backend.manage_editor permission), which uses the same rendering mechanism and is addressed separately.
All users are advised to update to the latest version to ensure their systems remain secure.
Patches
This issue has been patched in v1.2.13.
Workarounds
Apply https://github.com/wintercms/winter/commit/d28f0b9474af79cfaa80eeb9d691f7a7c4469720 manually if unable to upgrade to v1.2.13.
Resources
- CVE-2025-61676 (identical vulnerability in October CMS, patched in v3.7.13 and v4.0.12)
Affected packages
Start with the recorded fix for your release branch. Check your installed version and test compatibility before upgrading. Fixing this advisory does not rule out other vulnerabilities in the release.
Earlier releases before 1.2.13
Fixed in 1.2.13
26 explicitly affected versions
v1.0.473, v1.0.474, v1.0.475, v1.1.10, v1.1.11, v1.1.2, v1.1.3, v1.1.4, v1.1.5, v1.1.6, v1.1.7, v1.1.8, v1.1.9, v1.2.0, v1.2.1, v1.2.10, v1.2.11, v1.2.12, v1.2.2, v1.2.3, v1.2.4, v1.2.5, v1.2.6, v1.2.7, v1.2.8, v1.2.9
View affected-version evidence
{
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1.2.13"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
],
"versions": [
"v1.0.473",
"v1.0.474",
"v1.0.475",
"v1.1.10",
"v1.1.11",
"v1.1.2",
"v1.1.3",
"v1.1.4",
"v1.1.5",
"v1.1.6",
"v1.1.7",
"v1.1.8",
"v1.1.9",
"v1.2.0",
"v1.2.1",
"v1.2.10",
"v1.2.11",
"v1.2.12",
"v1.2.2",
"v1.2.3",
"v1.2.4",
"v1.2.5",
"v1.2.6",
"v1.2.7",
"v1.2.8",
"v1.2.9"
]
}