CVE-2023-38500: Typo3/html sanitizer Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-59jf-3q9v-rh6g
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CVSS 4.7
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-38500 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.7) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Typo3/html sanitizer libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves by-passing cross-site scripting protection in html sanitizer. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.5.1, 2.1.2.

CVE-2023-38500 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-38500
GHSA Identifier GHSA-59jf-3q9v-rh6g
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.7
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Typo3/html sanitizer
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.7

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2023-38500

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Typo3/html sanitizer dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

typo3/html-sanitizer fixed: 1.5.1 
Upgrade typo3/html-sanitizer to 1.5.1
typo3/html-sanitizer fixed: 2.1.2 
Upgrade typo3/html-sanitizer to 2.1.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for typo3/html-sanitizer

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-38500, inspect your project dependencies for Typo3/html sanitizer:

inspect dependencies for typo3/html-sanitizer

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Typo3/html sanitizer in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.5.1), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Typo3/html sanitizer, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

> ### CVSS: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N/E:F/RL:O/RC:C` (4.4) ### Problem Due to an encoding issue in the serialization layer, malicious markup nested in a `noscript` element was not encoded correctly. `noscript` is disabled in the default configuration, but might have been enabled in custom scenarios. This allows bypassing the cross-site scripting mechanism of [`typo3/html-sanitizer`](https://packagist.org/packages/typo3/html-sanitizer). ### Solution Update to `typo3/html-sanitizer` versions 1.5.1 or 2.1.2 that fix the problem described. ### Credits Thanks to David Klein and Yaniv Nizry who reported this issue, and to TYPO3 security team members Oliver Hader and Benjamin Franzke who fixed the issue. ### References * [TYPO3-CORE-SA-2023-002](https://typo3.org/security/advisory/typo3-core-sa-2023-002)

CVE-2023-38500 Affected Typo3/html sanitizer Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.5.12.1.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
typo3/html-sanitizer
 Packagist
≥ 1.0.0
< 1.5.1
1.5.1
typo3/html-sanitizer
 Packagist
≥ 2.0.0
< 2.1.2
2.1.2

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/TYPO3/html-sanitizer/security/advisories/GHSA-59jf-3q9v-rh6g
NVD — CVE-2023-38500 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38500
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/TYPO3/html-sanitizer/commit/e3026f589fef0be8c3574ee3f0a0bfbe33d7ebdb
Typo3/html sanitizer Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/TYPO3/html-sanitizer
Typo3/html sanitizer Security Information SECURITY
https://typo3.org/security/advisory/typo3-core-sa-2023-002

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-38500?
CVE-2023-38500 is a security vulnerability in Typo3/html sanitizer involving By-passing Cross-Site Scripting Protection in HTML Sanitizer under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Typo3/html sanitizer versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.5.1, 2.1.2 across affected packages: typo3/html-sanitizer.
What version fixes CVE-2023-38500?
Upgrading to 1.5.1, 2.1.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is typo3/html-sanitizer affected?
Yes, typo3/html-sanitizer is affected in releases prior to 1.5.1, 2.1.2. Upgrade your dependency to 1.5.1, 2.1.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-38500?
CVE-2023-38500 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.7 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-38500?
CVE-2023-38500 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2023-38500?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for typo3/html-sanitizer'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-59jf-3q9v-rh6g",
  "modified" : "2023-07-25T18:27:16Z",
  "published" : "2023-07-25T18:27:16Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-38500" ],
  "summary" : "By-passing Cross-Site Scripting Protection in HTML Sanitizer",
  "details" : "> ### CVSS: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N/E:F/RL:O/RC:C` (4.4)\n\n### Problem\nDue to an encoding issue in the serialization layer, malicious markup nested in a `noscript` element was not encoded correctly. `noscript` is disabled in the default configuration, but might have been enabled in custom scenarios. This allows bypassing the cross-site scripting mechanism of [`typo3/html-sanitizer`](https://packagist.org/packages/typo3/html-sanitizer).\n\n### Solution\nUpdate to `typo3/html-sanitizer` versions 1.5.1 or 2.1.2 that fix the problem described.\n\n### Credits\nThanks to David Klein and Yaniv Nizry who reported this issue, and to TYPO3 security team members Oliver Hader and Benjamin Franzke who fixed the issue.\n\n### References\n* [TYPO3-CORE-SA-2023-002](https://typo3.org/security/advisory/typo3-core-sa-2023-002)\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "typo3/html-sanitizer"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.5.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "typo3/html-sanitizer"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.1.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TYPO3/html-sanitizer/security/advisories/GHSA-59jf-3q9v-rh6g"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38500"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TYPO3/html-sanitizer/commit/e3026f589fef0be8c3574ee3f0a0bfbe33d7ebdb"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TYPO3/html-sanitizer"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://typo3.org/security/advisory/typo3-core-sa-2023-002"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-07-25T18:27:16Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-07-25T21:15:11Z"
  }
}