GHSA-J839-GQQ4-GF9J
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-31 19:08 – Updated: 2026-07-31 19:08Summary
jodit's sanitizeHTMLElement neutralizes a javascript: href using a bare href.trim().indexOf('javascript') === 0 check. This omits the normalization jodit applies to every other URL attribute: isDangerousUrl strips control bytes with value.replace(/[\u0000-\u0020]+/g, '') and lowercases the value before testing the scheme. Because the href check does neither, it is bypassed by three obfuscation classes, all confirmed firing on click against the shipped 4.12.30 build:
- Case variants:
JAVASCRIPT:,Javascript:,jaVaScRiPt:(the check is case-sensitive). - A leading C0 control byte, e.g. a
\x01prefix before lowercasejavascript:(trim()does not remove bytes in the\x00-\x08/\x0e-\x1frange, but the browser strips a leading control byte before resolving the scheme). - An embedded tab or newline inside the scheme, e.g.
java\tscript:orjava\nscript:(the browser strips tab/newline from a URL, butindexOf('javascript')sees the broken word and does not match).
The dangerous href survives editor.value = assignment and the on-change LazyWalker, persisting in the stored editor value. A victim who clicks the link in any consumer that renders the stored value (readonly editor, server-rendered page, innerHTML consumer) runs attacker-controlled JS in that page's origin.
Details
The check is in sanitizeHTMLElement at src/core/helpers/html/safe-html.ts:213:
if (safeJavaScriptLink && href && href.trim().indexOf('javascript') === 0) {
attr(elm, 'href', location.protocol + '//' + href);
effected = true;
}
href.trim() removes leading/trailing ASCII whitespace only, and indexOf('javascript') is case-sensitive and literal. So the check fails to fire whenever the scheme is upper/mixed-case, prefixed by a non-whitespace control byte, or split by an embedded tab/newline - all of which a browser still resolves to javascript: on click (URI schemes are case-insensitive per RFC 3986 section 3.1; leading control bytes, tabs and newlines are stripped from a URL during parsing).
The same file already contains the correct routine, isDangerousUrl() (line 176), used for every other URL attribute (src, data, action, formaction, poster, background, xlink:href):
function isDangerousUrl(value, tagName) {
const normalized = value.replace(/[\u0000-\u0020]+/g, '').toLowerCase();
if (/^(?:javascript|vbscript|livescript|mocha):/.test(normalized)) {
return true;
}
// ...
}
isDangerousUrl strips every control byte and ASCII space (/[\u0000-\u0020]+/g) and lowercases before testing the scheme, so it resists all three obfuscations. But href never goes through it: the attribute list isDangerousUrl is applied to (URL_ATTRIBUTES) is commented "besides href", and href is handled only by the weaker indexOf check. Both the synchronous value-set path (onBeforeSetNativeEditorValue -> safeHTML -> sanitizeHTMLElement) and the asynchronous on-change path (sanitizeAttributes -> sanitizeHTMLElement) use that same weak check.
Positive controls (filter is otherwise live): a plain lowercase javascript: href IS neutralized: jodit rewrites the value to location.protocol + '//' + href, so it reads about://javascript:... on an about:blank test page and https://javascript:... on an https page. A leading ASCII space or tab IS caught by trim(); the bypass is specific to the un-normalized forms above.
Proof of concept
Default configuration. Assign a payload to the editor and read back the stored value:
const editor = Jodit.make('#editor');
editor.value = '<a href="JAVASCRIPT:alert(document.domain)">click me</a>';
// editor.value getter returns the href unchanged:
// <p><a href="JAVASCRIPT:alert(document.domain)">click me</a></p>
document.getElementById('view').innerHTML = editor.value;
// Clicking "click me" runs alert(document.domain) in the consumer's origin.
The same persists for the leading-control-byte form (a \x01 prefix before lowercase javascript:) and the embedded-tab/newline forms (java\tscript: / java\nscript:). Verified live on the shipped es2021/jodit.min.js for jodit 4.12.30. Positive controls in the same run: <img src=x onerror=...> stripped; lowercase javascript: neutralized to location.protocol + '//' + href (about://... on the about:blank test page used here, https://... on an https page).
Impact
Stored click-XSS. An attacker with write access to an editor instance (content author, or comment author in a multi-user application) stores a crafted javascript: link. Any user who clicks it in a view that renders the stored value (readonly editor, server-rendered page, innerHTML consumer) runs attacker-controlled JS in that origin. One user interaction (the click) is required. A consumer that re-sanitizes the editor output before rendering is not affected.
Suggested fix
Route href through the existing isDangerousUrl() rather than the bespoke indexOf check. isDangerousUrl already strips control bytes and lowercases, so it closes the case, control-byte, and embedded-whitespace bypasses at once:
- if (safeJavaScriptLink && href && href.trim().indexOf('javascript') === 0) {
+ if (safeJavaScriptLink && href && isDangerousUrl(href, elm.nodeName.toLowerCase())) {
attr(elm, 'href', location.protocol + '//' + href);
effected = true;
}
{
"affected": [
{
"database_specific": {
"last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 4.12.30"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "npm",
"name": "jodit"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "4.12.31"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-62324"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-79",
"CWE-83"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-07-31T19:08:20Z",
"nvd_published_at": null,
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "### Summary\n\njodit\u0027s `sanitizeHTMLElement` neutralizes a `javascript:` `href` using a bare `href.trim().indexOf(\u0027javascript\u0027) === 0` check. This omits the normalization jodit applies to every other URL attribute: `isDangerousUrl` strips control bytes with `value.replace(/[\\u0000-\\u0020]+/g, \u0027\u0027)` and lowercases the value before testing the scheme. Because the `href` check does neither, it is bypassed by three obfuscation classes, all confirmed firing on click against the shipped 4.12.30 build:\n\n1. Case variants: `JAVASCRIPT:`, `Javascript:`, `jaVaScRiPt:` (the check is case-sensitive).\n2. A leading C0 control byte, e.g. a `\\x01` prefix before lowercase `javascript:` (`trim()` does not remove bytes in the `\\x00`-`\\x08` / `\\x0e`-`\\x1f` range, but the browser strips a leading control byte before resolving the scheme).\n3. An embedded tab or newline inside the scheme, e.g. `java\\tscript:` or `java\\nscript:` (the browser strips tab/newline from a URL, but `indexOf(\u0027javascript\u0027)` sees the broken word and does not match).\n\nThe dangerous href survives `editor.value =` assignment and the on-change LazyWalker, persisting in the stored editor value. A victim who clicks the link in any consumer that renders the stored value (readonly editor, server-rendered page, `innerHTML` consumer) runs attacker-controlled JS in that page\u0027s origin.\n\n### Details\n\nThe check is in `sanitizeHTMLElement` at `src/core/helpers/html/safe-html.ts:213`:\n\n```js\nif (safeJavaScriptLink \u0026\u0026 href \u0026\u0026 href.trim().indexOf(\u0027javascript\u0027) === 0) {\n attr(elm, \u0027href\u0027, location.protocol + \u0027//\u0027 + href);\n effected = true;\n}\n```\n\n`href.trim()` removes leading/trailing ASCII whitespace only, and `indexOf(\u0027javascript\u0027)` is case-sensitive and literal. So the check fails to fire whenever the scheme is upper/mixed-case, prefixed by a non-whitespace control byte, or split by an embedded tab/newline - all of which a browser still resolves to `javascript:` on click (URI schemes are case-insensitive per RFC 3986 section 3.1; leading control bytes, tabs and newlines are stripped from a URL during parsing).\n\nThe same file already contains the correct routine, `isDangerousUrl()` (line 176), used for every other URL attribute (`src`, `data`, `action`, `formaction`, `poster`, `background`, `xlink:href`):\n\n```js\nfunction isDangerousUrl(value, tagName) {\n const normalized = value.replace(/[\\u0000-\\u0020]+/g, \u0027\u0027).toLowerCase();\n if (/^(?:javascript|vbscript|livescript|mocha):/.test(normalized)) {\n return true;\n }\n // ...\n}\n```\n\n`isDangerousUrl` strips every control byte and ASCII space (`/[\\u0000-\\u0020]+/g`) and lowercases before testing the scheme, so it resists all three obfuscations. But `href` never goes through it: the attribute list `isDangerousUrl` is applied to (`URL_ATTRIBUTES`) is commented \"besides href\", and `href` is handled only by the weaker `indexOf` check. Both the synchronous value-set path (`onBeforeSetNativeEditorValue` -\u003e `safeHTML` -\u003e `sanitizeHTMLElement`) and the asynchronous on-change path (`sanitizeAttributes` -\u003e `sanitizeHTMLElement`) use that same weak check.\n\nPositive controls (filter is otherwise live): a plain lowercase `javascript:` href IS neutralized: jodit rewrites the value to `location.protocol + \u0027//\u0027 + href`, so it reads `about://javascript:...` on an about:blank test page and `https://javascript:...` on an https page. A leading ASCII space or tab IS caught by `trim()`; the bypass is specific to the un-normalized forms above.\n\n### Proof of concept\n\nDefault configuration. Assign a payload to the editor and read back the stored value:\n\n```js\nconst editor = Jodit.make(\u0027#editor\u0027);\neditor.value = \u0027\u003ca href=\"JAVASCRIPT:alert(document.domain)\"\u003eclick me\u003c/a\u003e\u0027;\n// editor.value getter returns the href unchanged:\n// \u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"JAVASCRIPT:alert(document.domain)\"\u003eclick me\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\ndocument.getElementById(\u0027view\u0027).innerHTML = editor.value;\n// Clicking \"click me\" runs alert(document.domain) in the consumer\u0027s origin.\n```\n\nThe same persists for the leading-control-byte form (a `\\x01` prefix before lowercase `javascript:`) and the embedded-tab/newline forms (`java\\tscript:` / `java\\nscript:`). Verified live on the shipped `es2021/jodit.min.js` for jodit 4.12.30. Positive controls in the same run: `\u003cimg src=x onerror=...\u003e` stripped; lowercase `javascript:` neutralized to `location.protocol + \u0027//\u0027 + href` (`about://...` on the about:blank test page used here, `https://...` on an https page).\n\n### Impact\n\nStored click-XSS. An attacker with write access to an editor instance (content author, or comment author in a multi-user application) stores a crafted `javascript:` link. Any user who clicks it in a view that renders the stored value (readonly editor, server-rendered page, `innerHTML` consumer) runs attacker-controlled JS in that origin. One user interaction (the click) is required. A consumer that re-sanitizes the editor output before rendering is not affected.\n\n### Suggested fix\n\nRoute `href` through the existing `isDangerousUrl()` rather than the bespoke `indexOf` check. `isDangerousUrl` already strips control bytes and lowercases, so it closes the case, control-byte, and embedded-whitespace bypasses at once:\n\n```diff\n-\tif (safeJavaScriptLink \u0026\u0026 href \u0026\u0026 href.trim().indexOf(\u0027javascript\u0027) === 0) {\n+\tif (safeJavaScriptLink \u0026\u0026 href \u0026\u0026 isDangerousUrl(href, elm.nodeName.toLowerCase())) {\n \t\tattr(elm, \u0027href\u0027, location.protocol + \u0027//\u0027 + href);\n \t\teffected = true;\n \t}\n```",
"id": "GHSA-j839-gqq4-gf9j",
"modified": "2026-07-31T19:08:20Z",
"published": "2026-07-31T19:08:20Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/xdan/jodit/security/advisories/GHSA-j839-gqq4-gf9j"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/xdan/jodit/commit/5fba6ef2381d151d7cb8e3c5ad0b9996af0f97b0"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/xdan/jodit"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/xdan/jodit/releases/tag/4.12.31"
}
],
"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": "Jodit has incomplete javascript: scheme normalization in sanitizeHTMLElement href check that allows link XSS"
}
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.