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CVE-2023-28439

ckeditor4 plugins vulnerable to cross-site scripting caused by the editor instance destroying process

4.7 Medium

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.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
Required

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

Exploit likelihood

0.73%Up 0.7 points since Mar 23, 2023
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 4.7

ckeditor4 plugins vulnerable to cross-site scripting caused by the editor instance destroying process

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.

Record
CVE-2023-28439
CVSS 3.1
4.7 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Weakness
CWE-79
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-32127 4.7

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.

Record
EUVD-2023-32127
CVSS 3.1
4.7 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Updated
2026-11-03
NVD 4.7

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.

Record
CVE-2023-28439
CVSS 3.1
4.7 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
CVSS 3.1
6.1 MediumCVSS: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 4.7

ckeditor4 plugins vulnerable to cross-site scripting caused by the editor instance destroying process

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.

Record
CVE-2023-28439
CVSS 3.1
4.7 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Weakness
CWE-79
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2023-28439 6.1

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.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2023-28439
CVSS 3.1
6.1 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2023-28439 4.7

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.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-28439
CVSS 3.1
4.7 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
CVSS 3.1
6.1 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUSN-7258-1 No score

ckeditor vulnerabilities

Kevin Backhouse discovered that CKEditor did not properly sanitize HTML content. An attacker could possibly use this issue to perform cross site scripting and obtain sensitive information. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. (CVE-2022-24728)

It was discovered that CKEditor did not properly handle the creation of editor instances in the Iframe Dialog and Media Embed packages. An attacker could possibly use this issue to perform cross site scripting and obtain sensitive information. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. (CVE-2023-28439)

It was discovered that CKEditor did not properly handle parsing HTML content. An attacker could possibly use this issue to perform cross site scripting and obtain sensitive information. (CVE-2024-24815, CVE-2024-24816)

It was discovered that CKEditor did not properly sanitize version notifications. An attacker could possibly use this issue to perform cross site scripting and obtain sensitive information. This issue only affected Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and Ubuntu 24.10. (CVE-2024-43411)

Record
USN-7258-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
ckeditor
Debian:12
All versions, plus listed versions
4.19.1+dfsg-14.22.1+dfsg-14.22.1+dfsg1-2
None known
ckeditor3
Debian:12
All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.6.1+dfsg-7
None known
ckeditor
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.4.4+dfsg1-34.5.6+dfsg-14.5.7+dfsg-14.5.7+dfsg-24.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.16.04.1~esm14.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.16.04.1~esm24.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.16.04.1~esm3
None known
ldap-account-manager
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.9-15.1-15.2-15.2-1ubuntu1
None known
request-tracker4
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.2.11-24.2.12-34.2.12-44.2.12-5
None known
ckeditor
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.5.7+dfsg-24.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.18.04.14.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm14.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm2
None known
ckeditor3
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.6.1+dfsg-1
None known
ldap-account-manager
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
5.7-16.1-16.2-1
None known
request-tracker4
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.4.1-54.4.2-14.4.2-24.4.2-2ubuntu0.1~esm1
None known
ckeditor
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.11.1+dfsg-14.12.1+dfsg-14.12.1+dfsg-1ubuntu0.14.12.1+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1+esm14.12.1+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1+esm2
None known
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Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
ckeditor3
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.6.1+dfsg-33.6.6.1+dfsg-4
None known
ldap-account-manager
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
6.7-1
None known
request-tracker4
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.4.3-24.4.3-2+deb10u3build0.20.04.1
None known
ckeditor3
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.6.1+dfsg-7
None known
ldap-account-manager
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
7.5-17.7-1
None known
request-tracker4
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.4.4+dfsg-2ubuntu14.4.4+dfsg-2ubuntu1.22.04.1
None known
ckeditor
Ubuntu:Pro:22.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.16.0+dfsg-24.16.2+dfsg-14.16.2+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1~esm14.16.2+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1~esm2
None known
ckeditor3
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.6.1+dfsg-7
None known
ldap-account-manager
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
8.3-18.5-1
None known
request-tracker4
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.4.4+dfsg-2ubuntu14.4.4+dfsg-2ubuntu24.4.7+dfsg-1
None known
ldap-account-manager
Ubuntu:25.10
All versions, plus listed versions
9.0-1
None known
request-tracker4
Ubuntu:25.10
All versions, plus listed versions
4.4.7+dfsg-4syncable1
None known
ldap-account-manager
Ubuntu:26.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
9.0-19.0-1build1
None known
request-tracker4
Ubuntu:26.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.4.7+dfsg-4syncable1
None known
ckeditor
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 5 CVEs
before 4.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.16.04.1~esm2, plus listed versions
4.4.4+dfsg1-34.5.6+dfsg-14.5.7+dfsg-14.5.7+dfsg-24.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.16.04.1~esm1
4.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.16.04.1~esm2
ckeditor
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 5 CVEs
before 4.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm1, plus listed versions
4.5.7+dfsg-24.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.18.04.1
4.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm1
ckeditor
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 5 CVEs
before 4.12.1+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1+esm1, plus listed versions
4.11.1+dfsg-14.12.1+dfsg-14.12.1+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1
4.12.1+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1+esm1
ckeditor
Ubuntu:Pro:22.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 5 CVEs
before 4.16.2+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions
4.16.0+dfsg-24.16.2+dfsg-1
4.16.2+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1~esm1
ckeditor
Ubuntu:Pro:24.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 5 CVEs
before 4.22.1+dfsg1-2ubuntu0.24.04.1~esm1, plus listed versions
4.22.1+dfsg1-2
4.22.1+dfsg1-2ubuntu0.24.04.1~esm1

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected, facts
aliases, publishedEUVD
first indexedCVE List, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2023-28439 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.7) in Ckeditor, published March 22, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.73%, the 54th percentile. No source names a fixed version.

References

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