CVE-2022-48110: Ckeditor5 Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6p89-3p7c-qrhv
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CVSS 6.1
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-48110 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.1) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Ckeditor5 libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves cross-site scripting in ckeditor5. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 36.0.0.

CVE-2022-48110 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-48110
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6p89-3p7c-qrhv
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.1
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Ckeditor5
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

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).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
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-2022-48110

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Ckeditor5 dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

ckeditor5 fixed: 36.0.0 
npm install ckeditor5@36.0.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

npm ls ckeditor5

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2022-48110, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls ckeditor5

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ckeditor5 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 36.0.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls ckeditor5 command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

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 Ckeditor5, 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

CKSource CKEditor5 35.4.0 was discovered to contain a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability via the Full Featured CKEditor5 widget. NOTE: the vendor's position is that this is not a vulnerability. The CKEditor 5 documentation discusses that it is the responsibility of an integrator (who is adding CKEditor 5 functionality to a website) to choose the correct security settings for their use case. Also, safe default values are established (e.g., config.htmlEmbed.showPreviews is false).

CVE-2022-48110 Affected Ckeditor5 Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
36.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ckeditor5
npm/ckeditor5
npm
< 36.0.0
36.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2022-48110 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-48110
ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/late... WEB
https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/latest/features/html-embed.html
Ckeditor5 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor5
Ckeditor5 Security Information SECURITY
https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/170927/CKSource-CKEditor5-35.4.0-Cross-Site-Scripting.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-48110?
CVE-2022-48110 is a security vulnerability in Ckeditor5 involving Cross-site scripting in CKEditor5 under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Ckeditor5 versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 36.0.0 across affected packages: ckeditor5.
What version fixes CVE-2022-48110?
Upgrading to 36.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ckeditor5 affected?
Yes, ckeditor5 is affected in releases prior to 36.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 36.0.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-48110?
CVE-2022-48110 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-48110?
CVE-2022-48110 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 npm dependencies for CVE-2022-48110?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls ckeditor5'. 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-6p89-3p7c-qrhv",
  "modified" : "2023-02-23T21:52:54Z",
  "published" : "2023-02-13T21:31:04Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2023-02-15T15:36:00Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-48110" ],
  "summary" : "Cross-site scripting in CKEditor5",
  "details" : "CKSource CKEditor5 35.4.0 was discovered to contain a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability via the Full Featured CKEditor5 widget.\n\nNOTE: the vendor's position is that this is not a vulnerability. The CKEditor 5 documentation discusses that it is the responsibility of an integrator (who is adding CKEditor 5 functionality to a website) to choose the correct security settings for their use case. Also, safe default values are established (e.g., config.htmlEmbed.showPreviews is false).",
  "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" : "npm",
      "name" : "ckeditor5"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "36.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-48110"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/latest/features/html-embed.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/170927/CKSource-CKEditor5-35.4.0-Cross-Site-Scripting.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-02-14T00:29:24Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-02-13T20:15:00Z"
  }
}