CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-43861 — Mermaid Project Mermaid security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.2

Mermaid is a Javascript based diagramming and charting tool that uses Markdown-inspired text definitions and a renderer to create and modify complex diagrams. Prior to version 8.13.8, malicious diagrams can run javascript code at diagram readers' machines. Users should upgrade to version 8.13.8 to receive a patch. There are no known workarounds aside from upgrading.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.2 (3.1)
Published
2021-12-30
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
javascript/npm
Weaknesses
CWE-20, CWE-79

Affected products

  • mermaid_project / mermaid

Matched remediation archetype

Cross-site scripting and unsafe browser output

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace reflected, stored, and DOM-derived untrusted values into HTML, attributes, URLs, styles, scripts, and client-side template sinks.
  • Identify affected origins, authenticated user roles, sensitive browser capabilities, and where content is shared across tenants.
  • Review framework escaping, rich-text sanitization, legacy templates, and client-side rendering paths.

Remediate safely

  • Use context-aware framework output encoding and safe DOM APIs; keep untrusted data out of executable contexts.
  • Sanitize intentionally supported markup with a maintained allowlist policy and validate URLs and attributes separately.
  • Update affected rendering components and add tests for every output context using inert sentinel markup.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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