Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2023-28439


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.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 4.7, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network but requires specific conditions to be met though user interaction is required and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts limited data confidentiality, limited integrity, for affected systems. Impacting 2 products from ckeditor, from fedoraproject organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2023, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2023-03-22T21:15:18.607

Last Modified

2024-11-21T07:55:04.157

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 4.7 (MEDIUM)

Weaknesses
  • Type: Secondary
    CWE-79
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-79

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application ckeditor ckeditor < 4.21.0 Yes
Operating System fedoraproject fedora 37 Yes
Operating System fedoraproject fedora 38 Yes
Operating System fedoraproject fedora 39 Yes

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For ckeditor's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.