CVE-2023-28439 MEDIUM

CVE-2023-28439: ckeditor4 plugins vulnerable to cross-site scripting caused by the editor instance destroying process

Vendor Ckeditor
Product ckeditor4
Weakness CWE-79 · XSS
Published March 22, 2023
Last update February 13, 2025

CVSS base score

4.7/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity High
Privileges required None
User interaction Required
Confidentiality Low
Integrity Low

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

What the vulnerability does

01Description

CKEditor4 is an open source what-you-see-is-what-you-get HTML editor. A cross-site scripting vulnerability has been discovered affecting Iframe Dialog and Media Embed packages. The vulnerability may trigger a JavaScript code after fulfilling special conditions: using one of the affected packages on a web page with missing proper Content Security Policy configuration; initializing the editor on an element and using an element other than `<textarea>` as a base; and destroying the editor instance. This vulnerability might affect a small percentage of integrators that depend on dynamic editor initialization/destroy mechanism. A fix is available in CKEditor4 version 4.21.0. In some rare cases, a security fix may be considered a breaking change. Starting from version 4.21.0, the Iframe Dialog plugin applies the `sandbox` attribute by default, which restricts JavaScript code execution in the iframe element. To change this behavior, configure the `config.iframe_attributes` option. Also starting from version 4.21.0, the Media Embed plugin regenerates the entire content of the embed widget by default. To change this behavior, configure the `config.embed_keepOriginalContent` option. Those who choose to enable either of the more permissive options or who cannot upgrade to a patched version should properly configure Content Security Policy to avoid any potential security issues that may arise from embedding iframe elements on their web page.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

March 22, 2023 CVE published
February 13, 2025 Record updated

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