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sheshbabu zen EUVDEUVD-2026-87113

| CVE-2026-97868 LOW
Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (CWE-79)
2026-09-25 VulDB GHSA-238q-hxv4-7m67
2.0
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: VulDB
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Authenticate to zen instance (PR:L)
  2. Delivery
    Save note with malicious HTML/script payload
  3. Exploit
    dangerouslySetInnerHTML renders payload unsanitized
  4. Execution
    Script executes on note view (UI:P)
  5. Impact
    Session-context actions in victim browser

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

Requires an authenticated low-privilege account on a running self-hosted zen instance (PR:L) and the ability to save note content that reaches the Note Editor, which renders it through React's dangerouslySetInnerHTML in features/notes/NotesEditor.jsx without sanitization. Execution depends on a user subsequently viewing the malicious note in a browser (UI:P / passive interaction). Limiting factors: authentication is needed, the app is a single-/personal-user self-hosted tool so payloads often execute in the same account that stored them, no known fixed version exists, and there is no confidentiality or availability impact per the vector.

Impact

This is a genuinely low-to-moderate priority issue whose signals are largely consistent. The vendor-supplied CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N, score 5.1) describes a stored/DOM cross-site scripting flaw reachable over the network but requiring an authenticated low-privilege user (PR:L) and passive victim interaction (UI:P), with only limited integrity impact (VI:L) and no confidentiality or availability impact. The E:P attack maturity metric aligns with the confirmed public exploit (a Notion write-up demonstrating stored XSS). There is NO CISA KEV listing and NO EPSS score was provided, so there is no evidence of active or widespread exploitation - the exploitation status is best described as publicly available exploit code without confirmed in-the-wild use. The low score is driven by the nature of 'zen' as a self-hosted personal notes application: the XSS payload is stored in a note the attacker (or an authenticated user) controls and executes largely in that same user's session, so the practical blast radius is small. No conflicting signals were detected between the vector and description - both point to an authenticated, interaction-dependent, limited-impact web XSS.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An authenticated user of a self-hosted zen instance saves a note whose content includes a crafted HTML/script payload; because NotesEditor.jsx renders note content via React's dangerouslySetInnerHTML without sanitization, the script executes when the note is rendered in a browser. A public proof-of-concept demonstrating this stored XSS exists (Notion write-up), so exploitation requires no novel research; realistic impact is limited to script execution in the note-viewer's browser session.

Monitor Track and reassess. Why: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9).
No patch listed yet 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 25, 2026

Stored cross-site scripting in sheshbabu zen (versions 1.0 through 1.5.0) allows an authenticated low-privilege user to store crafted content that is later rendered by features/notes/NotesEditor.jsx through React's dangerouslySetInnerHTML without sanitization, executing script in the browser of anyone who opens the affected note. Publicly available exploit code exists, and the vendor was contacted about the disclosure but did not respond, so no vendor-released patch has been identified. Impact is limited to integrity in the affected web origin (scope change, low confidentiality/integrity, no availability impact), which keeps this a low-to-moderate priority issue for self-hosted instances.

RemediationAI

No vendor-released patch has been identified at time of analysis, and since the vendor was contacted early about the disclosure and did not respond, users should not expect a fixed release imminently and should plan to mitigate locally. The most effective step is to patch the application source: replace the dangerouslySetInnerHTML usage in features/notes/NotesEditor.jsx with a sanitized rendering path - either drop the property entirely and let React escape the content, or run the HTML through a maintained sanitizer such as DOMPurify restricted to a safe tag/attribute allowlist; the trade-off is that some legitimate rich-text markup may be stripped or rendered as plain text. As an interim compensating control, restrict who can create and edit notes (require an authenticated, trusted operator), avoid importing or opening untrusted note content, and treat any shared note link as a potential payload delivery path; this reduces exposure but does not fix the underlying component and would not stop a low-privilege user who already has note-writing access. Running the instance behind authentication and not exposing it to untrusted users limits the self-XSS-to-stored-XSS escalation, because in a single-user deployment the payload generally executes in the same account that stored it. Until a fixed version appears, re-check the VulDB advisory at https://vuldb.com/vuln/409884 and the CVE entry at https://vuldb.com/cve/CVE-2026-97868 for updated patch or version information, and prefer deploying from a commit that removes the unsanitized innerHTML render.

Affected VersionsENISA

zen 1.2
zen 1.3
zen 1.5.0
zen 1.1
zen 1.0
zen 1.4

Affected Packages

euvd zen no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The flaw is a classic CWE-79 improper neutralization of input during web page generation, mapped specifically to a React component, features/notes/NotesEditor.jsx, that injects note content via dangerouslySetInnerHTML instead of letting React escape it automatically. React's normal rendering path HTML-escapes interpolated values, but dangerouslySetInnerHTML deliberately bypasses that protection, so any note body containing raw HTML/script markup is written into the DOM and executed in the context of the zen application origin. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:sheshbabu:zen:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* and the EUVD list (zen 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5.0) identify the whole release line up to 1.5.0 as affected; this is a self-hosted personal notes tool, so the practical attack surface is the note editor and note viewer rather than a multi-tenant SaaS surface. Because the assessed vector shows scope change (S:C) with only low integrity and low confidentiality and no availability impact, the realistic worst case is session/context abuse or content tampering within the application origin - for example stealing a user's own session token or reading other notes reachable under that session - rather than host or network compromise. The supplied CVSS 4.0 entry carries E:P, matching the public exploit disclosure, and the tags (XSS, Zen) and VulDB references place this on the low end of XSS severity because it requires a legitimate account to store the payload first.

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Severity by source

Vendor (VulDB) PRIMARY 2.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P
vuln.today AI 5.4 MEDIUM

Authenticated storage of the payload (PR:L) and required victim rendering (UI:R); stored XSS crosses into the browser security context (S:C) with limited confidentiality/integrity impact and no availability impact.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (VulDB).

CVSS VectorVendor: VulDB

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
Passive
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
None
Vulnerable system: Integrity
Low
Vulnerable system: Availability
None
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Severity Changed
Sep 25, 2026 - 16:37 NVD
MEDIUM LOW
CVSS changed
Sep 25, 2026 - 16:37 NVD
5.1 (MEDIUM) 2.0 (LOW)
CVE Published
Sep 25, 2026 - 15:00 cve.org
MEDIUM 5.1

DescriptionCVE.org

A security vulnerability has been detected in sheshbabu zen up to 1.5.0. Affected by this issue is the function dangerouslySetInnerHTML of the file features/notes/NotesEditor.jsx of the component Note Editor. The manipulation leads to cross site scripting. The attack may be initiated remotely. The exploit has been disclosed publicly and may be used. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 92% exploitable
Prevalence
Rare
obscure self-hosted hobby notes app, tiny individual-user footprint
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

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.

SignalValue
Severity LOW
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

30
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +10
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

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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