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CVE-2020-4054

Cross-site Scripting in Sanitize

7.3 HighFix available

In Sanitize (RubyGem sanitize) greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 5.2.1, there is a cross-site scripting vulnerability. When HTML is sanitized using Sanitize's "relaxed" config, or a custom config that allows certain elements, some content in a math or svg element may not be sanitized correctly even if math and svg are not in the allowlist. You are likely to be vulnerable to this issue if you use Sanitize's relaxed config or a custom config that allows one or more of the following HTML elements: iframe, math, noembed, noframes, noscript, plaintext, script, style, svg, xmp. Using carefully crafted input, an attacker may be able to sneak arbitrary HTML through Sanitize, potentially resulting in XSS (cross-site scripting) or other undesired behavior when that HTML is rendered in a browser. This has been fixed in 5.2.1.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

Exploit likelihood

1.92%Up 0.6 points since Apr 14, 2021
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 7.3

Cross-site Scripting in Sanitize

In Sanitize (RubyGem sanitize) greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 5.2.1, there is a cross-site scripting vulnerability. When HTML is sanitized using Sanitize's "relaxed" config, or a custom config that allows certain elements, some content in a math or svg element may not be sanitized correctly even if math and svg are not in the allowlist. You are likely to be vulnerable to this issue if you use Sanitize's relaxed config or a custom config that allows one or more of the following HTML elements: iframe, math, noembed, noframes, noscript, plaintext, script, style, svg, xmp. Using carefully crafted input, an attacker may be able to sneak arbitrary HTML through Sanitize, potentially resulting in XSS (cross-site scripting) or other undesired behavior when that HTML is rendered in a browser. This has been fixed in 5.2.1.

Record
CVE-2020-4054
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Weakness
CWE-79
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-0503 7.3

In Sanitize (RubyGem sanitize) greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 5.2.1, there is a cross-site scripting vulnerability. When HTML is sanitized using Sanitize's "relaxed" config, or a custom config that allows certain elements, some content in a math or svg element may not be sanitized correctly even if math and svg are not in the allowlist. You are likely to be vulnerable to this issue if you use Sanitize's relaxed config or a custom config that allows one or more of the following HTML elements: iframe, math, noembed, noframes, noscript, plaintext, script, style, svg, xmp. Using carefully crafted input, an attacker may be able to sneak arbitrary HTML through Sanitize, potentially resulting in XSS (cross-site scripting) or other undesired behavior when that HTML is rendered in a browser. This has been fixed in 5.2.1.

Record
EUVD-2020-0503
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-p4x4-rw2p-8j8m 7.3

Cross-site Scripting in Sanitize

When HTML is sanitized using Sanitize's "relaxed" config or a custom config that allows certain elements, some content in a <math> or <svg> element may not be sanitized correctly even if math and svg are not in the allowlist.

You are likely to be vulnerable to this issue if you use Sanitize's relaxed config or a custom config that allows one or more of the following HTML elements:

  • iframe
  • math
  • noembed
  • noframes
  • noscript
  • plaintext
  • script
  • style
  • svg
  • xmp

Impact

Using carefully crafted input, an attacker may be able to sneak arbitrary HTML through Sanitize, potentially resulting in XSS (cross-site scripting) or other undesired behavior when that HTML is rendered in a browser.

Releases

This problem has been fixed in Sanitize 5.2.1.

Workarounds

If upgrading is not possible, a workaround is to override the default value of Sanitize's :remove_contents config option with the following value, which ensures that the contents of math and svg elements (among others) are removed entirely when those elements are not in the allowlist:

%w[iframe math noembed noframes noscript plaintext script style svg xmp]

For example, if you currently use Sanitize's relaxed config, you can create a custom config object that overrides the default value of :remove_contents like this:

custom_config = Sanitize::Config.merge(
  Sanitize::Config::RELAXED,
  :remove_contents => %w[iframe math noembed noframes noscript plaintext script style svg xmp]
)

You would then pass this custom config to Sanitize when sanitizing HTML.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Credits

Many thanks to Michal Bentkowski of Securitum for reporting this bug and helping to verify the fix.

References

Record
GHSA-p4x4-rw2p-8j8m
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Weakness
CWE-79
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 7.3

In Sanitize (RubyGem sanitize) greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 5.2.1, there is a cross-site scripting vulnerability. When HTML is sanitized using Sanitize's "relaxed" config, or a custom config that allows certain elements, some content in a math or svg element may not be sanitized correctly even if math and svg are not in the allowlist. You are likely to be vulnerable to this issue if you use Sanitize's relaxed config or a custom config that allows one or more of the following HTML elements: iframe, math, noembed, noframes, noscript, plaintext, script, style, svg, xmp. Using carefully crafted input, an attacker may be able to sneak arbitrary HTML through Sanitize, potentially resulting in XSS (cross-site scripting) or other undesired behavior when that HTML is rendered in a browser. This has been fixed in 5.2.1.

Record
CVE-2020-4054
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
CVSS 2.0
6.8 MediumAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Weakness
CWE-79
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 7.3

In Sanitize (RubyGem sanitize) greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 5.2.1, there is a cross-site scripting vulnerability. When HTML is sanitized using Sanitize's "relaxed" config, or a custom config that allows certain elements, some content in a math or svg element may not be sanitized correctly even if math and svg are not in the allowlist. You are likely to be vulnerable to this issue if you use Sanitize's relaxed config or a custom config that allows one or more of the following HTML elements: iframe, math, noembed, noframes, noscript, plaintext, script, style, svg, xmp. Using carefully crafted input, an attacker may be able to sneak arbitrary HTML through Sanitize, potentially resulting in XSS (cross-site scripting) or other undesired behavior when that HTML is rendered in a browser. This has been fixed in 5.2.1.

Record
CVE-2020-4054
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2020-4054 7.3

In Sanitize (RubyGem sanitize) greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 5.2.1, there is a cross-site scripting vulnerability. When HTML is sanitized using Sanitize's "relaxed" config, or a custom config that allows certain elements, some content in a math or svg element may not be sanitized correctly even if math and svg are not in the allowlist. You are likely to be vulnerable to this issue if you use Sanitize's relaxed config or a custom config that allows one or more of the following HTML elements: iframe, math, noembed, noframes, noscript, plaintext, script, style, svg, xmp. Using carefully crafted input, an attacker may be able to sneak arbitrary HTML through Sanitize, potentially resulting in XSS (cross-site scripting) or other undesired behavior when that HTML is rendered in a browser. This has been fixed in 5.2.1.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2020-4054
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-p4x4-rw2p-8j8m 7.3

Cross-site Scripting in Sanitize

When HTML is sanitized using Sanitize's "relaxed" config or a custom config that allows certain elements, some content in a <math> or <svg> element may not be sanitized correctly even if math and svg are not in the allowlist.

You are likely to be vulnerable to this issue if you use Sanitize's relaxed config or a custom config that allows one or more of the following HTML elements:

  • iframe
  • math
  • noembed
  • noframes
  • noscript
  • plaintext
  • script
  • style
  • svg
  • xmp

Impact

Using carefully crafted input, an attacker may be able to sneak arbitrary HTML through Sanitize, potentially resulting in XSS (cross-site scripting) or other undesired behavior when that HTML is rendered in a browser.

Releases

This problem has been fixed in Sanitize 5.2.1.

Workarounds

If upgrading is not possible, a workaround is to override the default value of Sanitize's :remove_contents config option with the following value, which ensures that the contents of math and svg elements (among others) are removed entirely when those elements are not in the allowlist:

%w[iframe math noembed noframes noscript plaintext script style svg xmp]

For example, if you currently use Sanitize's relaxed config, you can create a custom config object that overrides the default value of :remove_contents like this:

custom_config = Sanitize::Config.merge(
  Sanitize::Config::RELAXED,
  :remove_contents => %w[iframe math noembed noframes noscript plaintext script style svg xmp]
)

You would then pass this custom config to Sanitize when sanitizing HTML.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Credits

Many thanks to Michal Bentkowski of Securitum for reporting this bug and helping to verify the fix.

References

Record
GHSA-p4x4-rw2p-8j8m
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Weakness
CWE-79
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-4054 7.3

In Sanitize (RubyGem sanitize) greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 5.2.1, there is a cross-site scripting vulnerability. When HTML is sanitized using Sanitize's "relaxed" config, or a custom config that allows certain elements, some content in a math or svg element may not be sanitized correctly even if math and svg are not in the allowlist. You are likely to be vulnerable to this issue if you use Sanitize's relaxed config or a custom config that allows one or more of the following HTML elements: iframe, math, noembed, noframes, noscript, plaintext, script, style, svg, xmp. Using carefully crafted input, an attacker may be able to sneak arbitrary HTML through Sanitize, potentially resulting in XSS (cross-site scripting) or other undesired behavior when that HTML is rendered in a browser. This has been fixed in 5.2.1.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-4054
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUSN-4543-1 No score

ruby-sanitize vulnerability

Michał Bentkowski discovered that Sanitize did not properly sanitize some math or svg HTML under certain circumstances. A remote attacker could potentially exploit this to conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. (CVE-2020-4054)

Record
USN-4543-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
sanitize
RubyGems
3.0.0 up to 5.2.1
5.2.1
ruby-sanitize
Debian:12
before 4.6.6-2.1
4.6.6-2.1
ruby-sanitize
Debian:13
before 4.6.6-2.1
4.6.6-2.1
ruby-sanitize
Debian:14
before 4.6.6-2.1
4.6.6-2.1
ruby-sanitize
Debian:10
before 4.6.6-2.1~deb10u1, plus listed versions
4.6.6-2
4.6.6-2.1~deb10u1
sanitize
RubyGems
3.0.0 up to 5.2.1, plus listed versions
3.0.13.0.23.0.33.0.43.1.0
Show 19 moreShow less
3.1.13.1.24.0.04.0.14.1.04.2.04.3.04.4.04.5.04.6.04.6.14.6.24.6.34.6.44.6.54.6.65.0.05.1.05.2.0
5.2.1
ruby-sanitize
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
2.1.0-12.1.0-22.1.0-2+deb9u1build0.16.04.1
None known
ruby-sanitize
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
2.1.0-22.1.0-2+deb9u1build0.18.04.1
None known
ruby-sanitize
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS
before 4.6.6-2.1~0.20.04.1, plus listed versions
4.6.6-2
4.6.6-2.1~0.20.04.1

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
aliasesEUVD
first indexedCVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

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

In short

CVE-2020-4054 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.3) in Rgrove Sanitize, published June 16, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.92%, the 79th percentile. Fixed in sanitize 5.2.1.

References

Show 7 moreShow less
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