Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticated actor submits crafted SVG content
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DeliveryPrefixed animation tag bypasses SMIL URL check
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ExploitSanitized SVG rendered to victim
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ExecutionVictim activates rewritten link
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ImpactScript executes in victim browser session
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Output encoding, context-aware escaping
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires a non-default sanitize-html configuration that explicitly permits namespace-prefixed SVG animation elements (e.g. prefixed <animate>/<set>-style tags) together with the relevant URL-targeting attributes; the description states the default sanitizer configuration is not unconditionally affected. A second hard limit is user interaction (UI:R): the injected SVG only rewrites a link destination to an unsafe URI, and script execution occurs only when a victim actually activates (clicks) that link. The attacker also needs the ability to submit HTML/SVG content that passes through the sanitizer (PR:L in the vector). These stacked prerequisites - non-default allow-list, content-submission access, and victim click - substantially constrain realistic exploitation. |
| Impact | This is a genuinely low-priority issue, and the signals are internally consistent rather than conflicting. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 3.7 (Low) reflects a hard-to-exploit XSS: AV:N (web-delivered content) but AC:H (requires a non-default sanitizer configuration), PR:L (an authenticated/content-submitting actor), UI:R (a victim must activate the malicious link), S:U, and only C:L/I:L/A:N impact. No EPSS probability was supplied in the input, so exploitation likelihood cannot be quantified from this data. The vulnerability is NOT on the CISA KEV list and no POC/exploit code is referenced, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis. The combined picture - low technical impact, two independent limiting conditions (non-default config AND user interaction), and no evidence of exploitation - means this is a defense-in-depth fix rather than an urgent patch priority. The one caveat is reach: sanitize-html is an extremely widely depended-upon npm sanitizer, so while any single deployment is low-risk, the affected library's footprint is large; teams running the vulnerable 2.17.7-2.17.x range with the specific SVG-animation allowances enabled should still patch to 2.18.0. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | In an ApostropheCMS/sanitize-html deployment whose configuration has been customized to permit namespace-prefixed SVG animation elements and their URL-targeting attributes, an attacker with the ability to submit content crafts an SVG whose prefixed animation tag evades the unprefixed SMIL animation-element check. The sanitizer passes it through, and after rendering the animation rewrites a link's destination to an unsafe (e.g. javascript:) URI, so script executes when a victim clicks the affected link. No public exploit code is referenced in the available data. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 20, 2026
sanitize-html 2.17.7 and later before 2.18.0 can bypass SMIL URL protection when an application opts into a non-default allow-list that permits namespace-prefixed SVG animation elements plus URL-targeting attributes. The prefixed animation tags do not match the library's unprefixed animation-element check, so a sanitized SVG can rewrite a link destination to an unsafe URI and execute script if a user activates that link. The default configuration is not unconditionally affected, exploitation requires content-submission access and a victim click, and the issue is fixed in sanitize-html 2.18.0; no public exploit code was identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Upgrade sanitize-html to 2.18.0, the vendor-released patch, using the release at https://github.com/apostrophecms/apostrophe/releases/tag/sanitize-html@2.18.0, and update ApostropheCMS deployments to a release that pins the fixed sanitize-html version; see advisory https://github.com/apostrophecms/apostrophe/security/advisories/GHSA-374f-7chj-9948. If upgrading cannot be done immediately, remove namespace-prefixed SVG animation elements (for example prefixed animate and set tags) and URL-targeting attributes such as href and xlink:href from the sanitizer allow-list, or disallow SVG animation content entirely; the trade-off is loss of animated SVG functionality in sanitized content. Restricting who can submit raw HTML or SVG reduces exposure but does not replace the patch, because any accepted content still passes through the vulnerable sanitizer configuration.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 2 packages in npm, euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
sanitize-html is a Node.js HTML sanitizer used to strip unsafe markup from untrusted content. This is a CWE-79 cross-site scripting issue rooted in how SVG SMIL animation elements are inspected: the sanitizer's URL protection looks for unprefixed animation-element names, but namespace-prefixed SVG animation tags can pass through when the application's sanitizer configuration explicitly allows them. Those animation elements can target URL-bearing attributes on links and alter the destination after the sanitized SVG is rendered, creating a script-execution path when the victim clicks the affected link. The CVSS vector AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N reflects a remotely reachable, high-complexity issue requiring some content-submission capability and user interaction, with limited confidentiality and integrity impact. CPE data identifies both the sanitize-html package and ApostropheCMS as affected products; the vulnerability is in the sanitizer library, and ApostropheCMS deployments are exposed where they rely on the vulnerable sanitize-html version and use a permissive non-default SVG configuration.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
AC:H because a non-default SVG-animation allow-list is required, PR:L for a content-submitting actor, UI:R since the victim must click the rewritten link; limited C/I and no availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (GitHub_M).
CVSS VectorVendor: GitHub_M
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
ApostropheCMS is an open-source Node.js content management system, and sanitize-html provides a simple HTML sanitizer with a clear API. From sanitize-html 2.17.7 until 2.18.0, an application configuration that permits namespace-prefixed SVG animation elements and the relevant URL-targeting attributes can bypass the SMIL URL protection because prefixed tag names do not match the unprefixed animation-element check. The bypass can rewrite a link destination to an unsafe URI after the sanitized SVG is rendered, with script execution occurring when a user activates the affected link; the default sanitizer configuration is not unconditionally affected. This issue is fixed in sanitize-html 2.18.0.
Blast Radius
ecosystem impact- 141 npm packages depend on sanitize-html (41 direct, 100 indirect)
Ecosystem-wide dependent count for version 2.17.7.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Cross-Site Scripting occurs when an application accepts untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or encoding.
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EUVD-2026-105186
GHSA-374f-7chj-9948
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB