CVE-2014-5191: Ckeditor/ckeditor Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-v27h-j97p-wqmx
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CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2014-5191 is a MODERATE cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Ckeditor/ckeditor libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves the preview plugin in ckeditor allows cross-site scripting (xss). Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.4.3.

CVE-2014-5191 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2014-5191
GHSA Identifier GHSA-v27h-j97p-wqmx
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Ckeditor/ckeditor
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2014-5191

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

ckeditor/ckeditor fixed: 4.4.3 
Upgrade ckeditor/ckeditor to 4.4.3
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 ckeditor/ckeditor

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2014-5191, inspect your project dependencies for Ckeditor/ckeditor:

inspect dependencies for ckeditor/ckeditor

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ckeditor/ckeditor in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.4.3), 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 Ckeditor/ckeditor, 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

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Preview plugin before 4.4.3 in CKEditor allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.

CVE-2014-5191 Affected Ckeditor/ckeditor Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.4.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ckeditor/ckeditor
 Packagist
< 4.4.3
4.4.3

References

NVD — CVE-2014-5191 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-5191
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor4/commit/b685874c6bc873a76e6e95916c43840a2b7ab08a
Ckeditor/ckeditor Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor4-releases
ckeditor.com/node/136981 WEB
http://ckeditor.com/node/136981

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2014-5191?
CVE-2014-5191 is a security vulnerability in Ckeditor/ckeditor involving The Preview plugin in CKEditor allows Cross-site scripting (XSS) under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Ckeditor/ckeditor versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.4.3 across affected packages: ckeditor/ckeditor.
What version fixes CVE-2014-5191?
Upgrading to 4.4.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ckeditor/ckeditor affected?
Yes, ckeditor/ckeditor is affected in releases prior to 4.4.3. Upgrade your dependency to 4.4.3 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2014-5191?
CVE-2014-5191 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-2014-5191?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for ckeditor/ckeditor'. 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-v27h-j97p-wqmx",
  "modified" : "2025-02-19T19:03:03Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T04:08:14Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2014-5191" ],
  "summary" : "The Preview plugin in CKEditor allows Cross-site scripting (XSS)",
  "details" : "Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Preview plugin before 4.4.3 in CKEditor allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "ckeditor/ckeditor"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.4.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-5191"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor4/commit/b685874c6bc873a76e6e95916c43840a2b7ab08a"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor4-releases"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://ckeditor.com/node/136981"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-02-19T19:03:03Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2014-08-07T11:13:00Z"
  }
}