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OpenAdvisories
Medium · 4.7 CVE-2023-28439 EUVD-2023-32127

ckeditor4 plugins vulnerable to cross-site scripting caused by the editor instance destroying process

Published Mar 22, 2023 · Updated Feb 13, 2025 · Assigned by GitHub_M

Description

CKEditor4 is an open source what-you-see-is-what-you-get HTML editor. A cross-site scripting vulnerability has been discovered affecting Iframe Dialog and Media Embed packages. The vulnerability may trigger a JavaScript code after fulfilling special conditions: using one of the affected packages on a web page with missing proper Content Security Policy configuration; initializing the editor on an element and using an element other than `<textarea>` as a base; and destroying the editor instance. This vulnerability might affect a small percentage of integrators that depend on dynamic editor initialization/destroy mechanism.

A fix is available in CKEditor4 version 4.21.0. In some rare cases, a security fix may be considered a breaking change. Starting from version 4.21.0, the Iframe Dialog plugin applies the `sandbox` attribute by default, which restricts JavaScript code execution in the iframe element. To change this behavior, configure the `config.iframe_attributes` option. Also starting from version 4.21.0, the Media Embed plugin regenerates the entire content of the embed widget by default. To change this behavior, configure the `config.embed_keepOriginalContent` option. Those who choose to enable either of the more permissive options or who cannot upgrade to a patched version should properly configure Content Security Policy to avoid any potential security issues that may arise from embedding iframe elements on their web page.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
ckeditor ckeditor4 < 4.21.0 —

Fixed in Linux distributions

Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian 12 ckeditor +1 No fix yet —
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS request-tracker4 +1 No fix yet —
Ubuntu 25.10 request-tracker4 +1 No fix yet —
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS ckeditor3 +2 No fix yet —
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS ckeditor3 +2 No fix yet —
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS ckeditor3 +2 No fix yet —
Show 7 more (older releases, extended support, other products)
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS ckeditor3 +1 No fix yet —
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS request-tracker4 +1 No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS ckeditor 4.22.1+dfsg1-2ubuntu0.24.04.1~esm1 USN-7258-1
Ubuntu Pro 22.04 LTS ckeditor 4.16.2+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1~esm1 USN-7258-1
Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS ckeditor 4.12.1+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1+esm1 USN-7258-1
Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS ckeditor 4.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.18.04.1+esm1 USN-7258-1
Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS request-tracker4 No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS ckeditor 4.5.7+dfsg-2ubuntu0.16.04.1~esm2 USN-7258-1

Advisories 6

References