CVE-2023-22461
sanitize-svg Filter Bypass Allows Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
The sanitize-svg package, a small SVG sanitizer to prevent cross-site scripting attacks, uses a deny-list-pattern to sanitize SVGs to prevent XSS. In doing so, literal <script>-tags and on-event handlers were detected in versions prior to 0.4.0. As a result, downstream software that relies on sanitize-svg and expects resulting SVGs to be safe, may be vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability was addressed in v0.4.0. There are no known workarounds
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.6
sanitize-svg Filter Bypass Allows Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
The sanitize-svg package, a small SVG sanitizer to prevent cross-site scripting attacks, uses a deny-list-pattern to sanitize SVGs to prevent XSS. In doing so, literal <script>-tags and on-event handlers were detected in versions prior to 0.4.0. As a result, downstream software that relies on sanitize-svg and expects resulting SVGs to be safe, may be vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability was addressed in v0.4.0. There are no known workarounds
- Record
CVE-2023-22461- CVSS 3.1
- 7.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79, CWE-80
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-0483
7.6
The sanitize-svg package, a small SVG sanitizer to prevent cross-site scripting attacks, uses a deny-list-pattern to sanitize SVGs to prevent XSS. In doing so, literal <script>-tags and on-event handlers were detected in versions prior to 0.4.0. As a result, downstream software that relies on sanitize-svg and expects resulting SVGs to be safe, may be vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability was addressed in v0.4.0. There are no known workarounds
- Record
EUVD-2023-0483- CVSS 3.1
- 7.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-h857-2g56-468g
7.6
@mattkrick/sanitize-svg vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Impact
The sanitize-svg package uses a deny-list-pattern to sanitize SVGs to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS). In doing so, literal <script>-tags and on-event handlers were detected:
[...]
const svgEl = div.firstElementChild!
const attributes = Array.from(svgEl.attributes).map(({ name }) => name)
const hasScriptAttr = !!attributes.find((attr) => attr.startsWith('on'))
const scripts = svgEl.getElementsByTagName('script')
return scripts.length === 0 && !hasScriptAttr ? svg : null
[...]
There are more ways to embed JavaScript in XML files.
Anchor Tag (requires user to click link):
<svg viewBox="0 0 100 100" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
<a href="javascript:alert(document.domain)">
<text x="50" y="50" text-anchor="middle">Lauritz</text>
</a>
</svg>
Foreign Object Tag (no user interaction required):
<svg width="500" height="500" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
<text x="20" y="35">Lauritz</text>
<foreignObject width="500" height="500">
<iframe xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="javascript:confirm(document.domain);" width="400" height="250"/>
</foreignObject>
</svg>
As a result, downstream software that relies on sanitize-svg and expects resulting SVGs to be safe, may be vulnerable to XSS. We are aware of at least one downstream project for which this vulnerability had security implications.
Patches
This vulnerability was addressed in v0.4.0.
Workarounds
N/A
- Record
GHSA-h857-2g56-468g- CVSS 3.1
- 7.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
7.6
The sanitize-svg package, a small SVG sanitizer to prevent cross-site scripting attacks, uses a deny-list-pattern to sanitize SVGs to prevent XSS. In doing so, literal <script>-tags and on-event handlers were detected in versions prior to 0.4.0. As a result, downstream software that relies on sanitize-svg and expects resulting SVGs to be safe, may be vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability was addressed in v0.4.0. There are no known workarounds
- Record
CVE-2023-22461- CVSS 3.1
- 7.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N - 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, CWE-80
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.6
sanitize-svg Filter Bypass Allows Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
The sanitize-svg package, a small SVG sanitizer to prevent cross-site scripting attacks, uses a deny-list-pattern to sanitize SVGs to prevent XSS. In doing so, literal <script>-tags and on-event handlers were detected in versions prior to 0.4.0. As a result, downstream software that relies on sanitize-svg and expects resulting SVGs to be safe, may be vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability was addressed in v0.4.0. There are no known workarounds
- Record
CVE-2023-22461- CVSS 3.1
- 7.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79, CWE-80
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-h857-2g56-468g
7.6
@mattkrick/sanitize-svg vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Impact
The sanitize-svg package uses a deny-list-pattern to sanitize SVGs to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS). In doing so, literal <script>-tags and on-event handlers were detected:
[...]
const svgEl = div.firstElementChild!
const attributes = Array.from(svgEl.attributes).map(({ name }) => name)
const hasScriptAttr = !!attributes.find((attr) => attr.startsWith('on'))
const scripts = svgEl.getElementsByTagName('script')
return scripts.length === 0 && !hasScriptAttr ? svg : null
[...]
There are more ways to embed JavaScript in XML files.
Anchor Tag (requires user to click link):
<svg viewBox="0 0 100 100" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
<a href="javascript:alert(document.domain)">
<text x="50" y="50" text-anchor="middle">Lauritz</text>
</a>
</svg>
Foreign Object Tag (no user interaction required):
<svg width="500" height="500" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
<text x="20" y="35">Lauritz</text>
<foreignObject width="500" height="500">
<iframe xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" src="javascript:confirm(document.domain);" width="400" height="250"/>
</foreignObject>
</svg>
As a result, downstream software that relies on sanitize-svg and expects resulting SVGs to be safe, may be vulnerable to XSS. We are aware of at least one downstream project for which this vulnerability had security implications.
Patches
This vulnerability was addressed in v0.4.0.
Workarounds
N/A
- Record
GHSA-h857-2g56-468g- CVSS 3.1
- 7.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
@mattkrick/sanitize-svgnpm |
through 0.3.1 | 0.4.0 |
@mattkrick/sanitize-svgnpm |
before 0.4.0 | 0.4.0 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-22461 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.6) in Mattkrick Sanitize-svg, published January 4, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.61%, the 49th percentile. Fixed in @mattkrick/sanitize-svg 0.4.0.
References
github.com/mattkrick/sanitize-svg/security/advisories/GHSA-h857-2g56-468g
github.com/mattkrick/sanitize-svg/commit/b107e453ede7b58adcccae74a3e474c012eec85d
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-22461
github.com/advisories/GHSA-h857-2g56-468g
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2023/22xxx/CVE-2023-22461.json
github.com/mattkrick/sanitize-svg