CVE intelligence and bounded remediation
CVE-2023-44390 — HtmlSanitizer is a .NET library for cleaning HTML fragments and documents from constructs that can lead to XSS attacks
HtmlSanitizer is a .NET library for cleaning HTML fragments and documents from constructs that can lead to XSS attacks. The vulnerability occurs in configurations where foreign content is allowed, i.e. either `svg` or `math` are in the list of allowed elements. In the case an application sanitizes user input with a vulnerable configuration, an attacker could bypass the sanitization and inject arbitrary HTML, including JavaScript code. Note that in the default configuration the vulnerability is not present. The vulnerability has been fixed in versions 8.0.723 and 8.1.722-beta (preview version).
- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.1 (3.1)
- Published
- 2023-10-05
- CISA KEV
- Not currently listed
- Ecosystem
- javascript/npm
- Weaknesses
- CWE-79
Affected products
- htmlsanitizer_project / htmlsanitizer
- htmlsanitizer_project / htmlsanitizer / 8.1.719
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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