CVE-2019-20174
auth0-lock vulnerable to XSS via unsanitized placeholder property
CVE-2019-20174 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.1) in Auth0 Lock, published January 31, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.72%, the 54th percentile. Fixed in auth0-lock 11.21.0.
Auth0 Lock before 11.21.0 allows XSS when additionalSignUpFields is used with an untrusted placeholder.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
6.1
Auth0 Lock before 11.21.0 allows XSS when additionalSignUpFields is used with an untrusted placeholder.
- Record
CVE-2019-20174- CVSS 3.1
- 6.1 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 4.3 Medium
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Auth0 Lock before 11.21.0 allows XSS when additionalSignUpFields is used with an untrusted placeholder.
- Record
CVE-2019-20174- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-0280 No score
Auth0 Lock before 11.21.0 allows XSS when additionalSignUpFields is used with an untrusted placeholder.
- Record
EUVD-2020-0280- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-w2pf-g6r8-pg22
6.1
auth0-lock vulnerable to XSS via unsanitized placeholder property
Overview
Auth0 Lock version 11.20.4 and earlier did not properly sanitize the generated HTML code. Customers using the additionalSignUpFields customization option to add a checkbox to the sign-up dialog that are passing a placeholder property obtained from an untrusted source (e.g. a query parameter) could allow cross-site scripting (XSS) on their signup pages.
Am I affected?
You are affected by this vulnerability if all of the following conditions apply:
- You are using Auth0 Lock version 11.20.4 or earlier.
- You pass
additionalSignUpFieldsas options when initializing Lock which includes a field of typecheckboxwhoseplaceholdervalue is obtained from an untrusted source.
An example of a vulnerable snippet is the following where the placeholder value is partially user-controlled by the name query parameter:
<script>
var params = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
var options = {
auth: {
redirectUrl: 'http://localhost:12345/callback',
responseType: 'code',
params: {
scope: 'openid email',
},
},
additionalSignUpFields: [{
name: 'agree',
type: 'checkbox',
placeholder: "I agree to Terms and Conditions for " + params.get('name'),
}],
};
var lock = new Auth0Lock('<CLIENT_ID>', '<TENANT_NAME>.auth0.com', options);
lock.show({
allowShowPassword: true,
initialScreen: 'signUp',
});
</script>
How to fix that?
Developers using Auth0’s signin solution Lock need to upgrade to version 11.21.0 or later. Version 11.21.0 introduces two changes:
- The existing
placeholderproperty is now treated as plain text to mitigate the problem. - A new
placeholderHTMLproperty is introduced that indicates the level of control it provides and that it should be only supplied from trusted sources.
Will this update impact my users?
This fix patches the Auth0 Lock widget and may require changes in application code, but it will not impact your users, their current state, or any existing sessions.
Developers using the placeholder property with HTML content from a trusted source should start using the placeholderHTML property to continue providing the same user experience.
- Record
GHSA-w2pf-g6r8-pg22- CVSS 3.1
- 6.1 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
6.1
Auth0 Lock before 11.21.0 allows XSS when additionalSignUpFields is used with an untrusted placeholder.
- Record
CVE-2019-20174- CVSS 3.1
- 6.1 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-w2pf-g6r8-pg22
6.1
auth0-lock vulnerable to XSS via unsanitized placeholder property
Overview
Auth0 Lock version 11.20.4 and earlier did not properly sanitize the generated HTML code. Customers using the additionalSignUpFields customization option to add a checkbox to the sign-up dialog that are passing a placeholder property obtained from an untrusted source (e.g. a query parameter) could allow cross-site scripting (XSS) on their signup pages.
Am I affected?
You are affected by this vulnerability if all of the following conditions apply:
- You are using Auth0 Lock version 11.20.4 or earlier.
- You pass
additionalSignUpFieldsas options when initializing Lock which includes a field of typecheckboxwhoseplaceholdervalue is obtained from an untrusted source.
An example of a vulnerable snippet is the following where the placeholder value is partially user-controlled by the name query parameter:
<script>
var params = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
var options = {
auth: {
redirectUrl: 'http://localhost:12345/callback',
responseType: 'code',
params: {
scope: 'openid email',
},
},
additionalSignUpFields: [{
name: 'agree',
type: 'checkbox',
placeholder: "I agree to Terms and Conditions for " + params.get('name'),
}],
};
var lock = new Auth0Lock('<CLIENT_ID>', '<TENANT_NAME>.auth0.com', options);
lock.show({
allowShowPassword: true,
initialScreen: 'signUp',
});
</script>
How to fix that?
Developers using Auth0’s signin solution Lock need to upgrade to version 11.21.0 or later. Version 11.21.0 introduces two changes:
- The existing
placeholderproperty is now treated as plain text to mitigate the problem. - A new
placeholderHTMLproperty is introduced that indicates the level of control it provides and that it should be only supplied from trusted sources.
Will this update impact my users?
This fix patches the Auth0 Lock widget and may require changes in application code, but it will not impact your users, their current state, or any existing sessions.
Developers using the placeholder property with HTML content from a trusted source should start using the placeholderHTML property to continue providing the same user experience.
- Record
GHSA-w2pf-g6r8-pg22- CVSS 3.1
- 6.1 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
auth0-locknpm |
before 11.21.0 | 11.21.0 |
History
| When | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-03 | aliases | EUVD |
| 2026-11-02 | created | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
References
github.com/auth0/lock/releases/tag/v11.21.0
auth0.com/docs/security/bulletins/cve-2019-20174
github.com/auth0/lock/security/advisories/GHSA-w2pf-g6r8-pg22
github.com/auth0/lock/commit/6c15e5659c21cd814ea119af5c51b61399598dd5
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-20174
github.com/advisories/GHSA-w2pf-g6r8-pg22