CVE-2024-52595

moderate-risk
Published 2024-11-19

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>`.

Do I need to act?

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0.50% chance of exploitation
EPSS score — low exploit probability
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Not on CISA KEV list
No confirmed active exploitation reported to CISA
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Patch status unknown
Check vendor advisories for fix availability and mitigation guidance
7
CVSS 7.7/10 High
NETWORK / HIGH complexity

Affected Products (1)

Lxml Html Clean

Affected Vendors

30
/ 100
moderate-risk
Severity 23/34 · High
Exploitability 2/34 · Minimal
Exposure 5/34 · Minimal