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CVE-2026-40186
Published:April 15, 2026
Updated:April 25, 2026
ApostropheCMS is an open-source Node.js content management system. A regression introduced in commit 49d0bb7, included in versions 2.17.1 of the ApostropheCMS-maintained sanitize-html package bypasses allowedTags enforcement for text inside nonTextTagsArray elements (textarea and option). ApostropheCMS version 4.28.0 is affected through its dependency on the vulnerable sanitize-html version. The code at packages/sanitize-html/index.js:569-573 incorrectly assumes that htmlparser2 does not decode entities inside these elements and skips escaping, but htmlparser2 10.x does decode entities before passing text to the ontext callback. As a result, entity-encoded HTML is decoded by the parser and then written directly to the output as literal HTML characters, completely bypassing the allowedTags filter. An attacker can inject arbitrary tags including XSS payloads through any allowed option or textarea element using entity encoding. This affects non-default configurations where option or textarea are included in allowedTags, which is common in form builders and CMS platforms. This issue has been fixed in version 2.17.2 of sanitize-html and 4.29.0 of ApostropheCMS.
Affected Packages
https://github.com/apostrophecms/apostrophe.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=sanitize-html@2.17.1 <sanitize-html@2.17.3
Fix Suggestion:
Update to version sanitize-html@2.17.3
sanitize-html (NPM):
Affected version(s) =2.17.2 <2.17.3
Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 2.17.3
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CVSS v4
Base Score:
5.3
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Attack Requirements
NONE
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
PASSIVE
Vulnerable System Confidentiality
LOW
Vulnerable System Integrity
LOW
Vulnerable System Availability
NONE
Subsequent System Confidentiality
LOW
Subsequent System Integrity
LOW
Subsequent System Availability
NONE
CVSS v3
Base Score:
6.1
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality
LOW
Integrity
LOW
Availability
NONE
Weakness Type (CWE)
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
EPSS
Base Score:
0.01