CVE-2023-43643: Antisamy Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability
MODERATECVE-2023-43643 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.1) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Antisamy libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves mxss in antisamy. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.7.4.
CVE-2023-43643 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 6.1
The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).
How to Fix CVE-2023-43643
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Antisamy dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
<dependency>
<groupId>org.owasp.antisamy</groupId>
<artifactId>antisamy</artifactId>
<version>1.7.4</version>
</dependency>
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.owasp.antisamy
How to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2023-43643, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.owasp.antisamy
Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Antisamy in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.7.4), your application is affected.
Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.owasp.antisamy command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.
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 Antisamy, 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
CVE-2023-43643 Affected Antisamy Versions
1 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
org.owasp.antisamy:antisamy
|
Maven |
< 1.7.4
|
1.7.4
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-43643?
Which Antisamy versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2023-43643?
Is antisamy affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-43643?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-43643?
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-43643?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-pcf2-gh6g-h5r2",
"modified" : "2023-10-09T00:42:27Z",
"published" : "2023-10-09T00:42:27Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-43643" ],
"summary" : "mXSS in AntiSamy",
"details" : "# Impact\n\nThere is a potential for a mutation XSS (mXSS) vulnerability in AntiSamy caused by flawed parsing of the HTML being sanitized. To be subject to this vulnerability the `preserveComments` directive must be enabled in your policy file and also allow for certain tags at the same time. As a result, certain crafty inputs can result in elements in comment tags being interpreted as executable when using AntiSamy's sanitized output.\n\n# Patches\n\nPatched in AntiSamy 1.7.4 and later. See important remediation details in the reference given below.\n\n# Workarounds\n\nIf you cannot upgrade to a fixed version of the library, the following mitigation can be applied until you can upgrade: Manually edit your AntiSamy policy file (e.g., antisamy.xml) by deleting the `preserveComments` directive or setting its value to `false`, if present. Also it would be useful to make AntiSamy remove the `noscript` tag by adding this in your tag definitions under the `<tagrules>` node (or deleting it entirely if present):\n```xml\n<tag name=\"noscript\" action=\"remove\"/>\n```\n\nAs the previously mentioned policy settings are preconditions for the mXSS attack to work, changing them as recommended should be sufficient to protect you against this vulnerability when using a vulnerable version of this library. However, the existing bug would still be present in AntiSamy or its parser dependency (neko-htmlunit). The safety of this workaround relies on configurations that may change in the future and don't address the root cause of the vulnerability. As such, it is strongly recommended to upgrade to a fixed version of AntiSamy.\n\n# For more information\n\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n\nEmail one of the project co-leaders, listed on the [OWASP AntiSamy project](https://owasp.org/www-project-antisamy/) page, under \"Leaders\".",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Maven",
"name" : "org.owasp.antisamy:antisamy"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.7.4"
} ]
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.7.3"
}
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/nahsra/antisamy/security/advisories/GHSA-pcf2-gh6g-h5r2"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-43643"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/nahsra/antisamy"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/nahsra/antisamy/releases/tag/v1.7.4"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
"severity" : "MODERATE",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2023-10-09T00:42:27Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2023-10-09T14:15:10Z"
}
}