Description
lxml_html_clean is a project for HTML cleaning functionalities copied from `lxml.html.clean`. Prior to version 0.4.0, the HTML Parser in lxml does not properly handle context-switching for special HTML tags such as `<svg>`, `<math>` and `<noscript>`. This behavior deviates from how web browsers parse and interpret such tags. Specifically, content in CSS comments is ignored by lxml_html_clean but may be interpreted differently by web browsers, enabling malicious scripts to bypass the cleaning process. This vulnerability could lead to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks, compromising the security of users relying on lxml_html_clean in default configuration for sanitizing untrusted HTML content. Users employing the HTML cleaner in a security-sensitive context should upgrade to lxml 0.4.0, which addresses this issue. As a temporary mitigation, users can configure lxml_html_clean with the following settings to prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability. Via `remove_tags`, one may specify tags to remove - their content is moved to their parents' tags. Via `kill_tags`, one may specify tags to be removed completely. Via `allow_tags`, one may restrict the set of permissible tags, excluding context-switching tags like `<svg>`, `<math>` and `<noscript>`.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| fedora-python | lxml_html_clean | < 0.4.0 | — |
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.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | lxml-html-clean | 0.4.1-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | lxml-html-clean | 0.4.1-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | lxml-html-clean | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | lxml-html-clean | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | lxml-html-clean | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | lxml-html-clean | No fix yet | — |
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PyPI | lxml-html-clean | < 0.4.0 | 0.4.0 | GHSA-5jfw-gq64-q45f |
Advisories 1
- WID-SEC-2024-3505 lxml: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Cross-Site Scripting BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 19, 2024