CVE-2020-4054
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.
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
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 High
CVSS: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 High
CVSS: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:
iframemathnoembednoframesnoscriptplaintextscriptstylesvgxmp
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:
- Open an issue in the Sanitize repo.
- See Sanitize's security policy.
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 High
CVSS: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 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L - CVSS 2.0
- 6.8 Medium
AV: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 High
CVSS: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 High
CVSS: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:
iframemathnoembednoframesnoscriptplaintextscriptstylesvgxmp
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:
- Open an issue in the Sanitize repo.
- See Sanitize's security policy.
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 High
CVSS: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 High
CVSS: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
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
sanitizeRubyGems |
3.0.0 up to 5.2.1 | 5.2.1 |
ruby-sanitizeDebian:12 |
before 4.6.6-2.1 | 4.6.6-2.1 |
ruby-sanitizeDebian:13 |
before 4.6.6-2.1 | 4.6.6-2.1 |
ruby-sanitizeDebian:14 |
before 4.6.6-2.1 | 4.6.6-2.1 |
ruby-sanitizeDebian:10 |
before 4.6.6-2.1~deb10u1, plus listed versions 4.6.6-2 |
4.6.6-2.1~deb10u1 |
sanitizeRubyGems |
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 less3.1.13.1.24.0.04.0.14.1.04.2.04.3.04.4.04.5.04.6.04.6.14.6.24.6.34.6.44.6.54.6.65.0.05.1.05.2.0 |
5.2.1 |
ruby-sanitizeUbuntu: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-sanitizeUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 2.1.0-22.1.0-2+deb9u1build0.18.04.1 |
None known |
ruby-sanitizeUbuntu: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
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE 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
github.com/rgrove/sanitize/security/advisories/GHSA-p4x4-rw2p-8j8m
github.com/rgrove/sanitize/commit/a11498de9e283cd457b35ee252983662f7452aa9
github.com/rgrove/sanitize/releases/tag/v5.2.1
debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4730
usn.ubuntu.com/4543-1
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-4054
Show 7 moreShow less
github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/sanitize/CVE-2020-4054.yml
github.com/advisories/GHSA-p4x4-rw2p-8j8m
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-4054
github.com/rgrove/sanitize
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-4054
ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4543-1
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-4054