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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 13 Feb 2025.
JqueryFramework / library

CVE-2020-11023

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.5.0 / 7.70 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In jQuery versions greater than or equal to 1.0.3 and before 3.5.0, passing HTML containing <option> elements from untrusted sources - even after sanitizing it - to one of jQuery's DOM manipulation methods (i.e. .html(), .append(), and others) may execute untrusted code. This problem is patched in jQuery 3.5.0.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

jQuery versions 1.0.3 through 3.4.x contain a DOM-based XSS vulnerability where passing HTML containing <option> elements from untrusted sources to jQuery's DOM manipulation methods (.html(), .append(), .before(), etc.) may execute arbitrary JavaScript code, even when the input has been sanitized.

MitigationUpgrade jQuery to version 3.5.0 or later, which includes the security fix for this vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
JqueryFramework / library
Affected:>= 1.0.3, < 3.5.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 31= 32= 33
DrupalCMS
Affected:>= 7.0, < 7.70>= 8.7.0, < 8.7.14>= 8.8.0, < 8.8.6
Active Iq Unified ManagerApplication
Affected:all versions
Application ExpressApplication
Affected:< 20.2
Application Testing SuiteApplication
Affected:= 13.3.0.1
Banking Enterprise CollectionsApplication
Affected:>= 2.7.0, <= 2.8.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify jQuery version in your environment
    Check the jQuery source file (jquery.js or jquery.min.js) for the version string in the header comment, or run jQuery.fn.jquery or $().jquery in browser console, or check package.json/bower.json dependencies
    Affected if The version is 1.0.3 through 3.4.x (anything >=1.0.3 and <3.5.0)
  2. Search for DOM manipulation with external input
    Audit your JavaScript code for usage of jQuery methods .html(), .append(), .before(), .after(), .wrap(), .wrapAll(), or .replaceWith() that accept dynamic or user-supplied values as their first argument
    Affected if These methods are used with untrusted input containing HTML, especially <option> elements
  3. Inspect server-side rendering or API responses
    Review any server endpoints or APIs that return HTML fragments containing <option> tags that are later inserted into the DOM using jQuery methods
    Affected if <option> elements from external sources flow into jQuery DOM manipulation methods
  4. Review client-side template engines
    Check if client-side templates or inline scripts pass external variables to jQuery DOM methods, particularly where <option> tags may be involved (e.g., dropdown population)
    Affected if Templates inject user-controllable data into jQuery DOM methods

Your environment is affected if jQuery version is 1.0.3 through 3.4.x AND your application passes HTML containing <option> elements from untrusted sources to jQuery DOM manipulation methods like .html(), .append(), or .before().

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.5.0 / 7.70 / 8.7.14 or later
Fixed in 3.5.07.708.7.14
Vendor patch www.oracle.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade jQuery to version 3.5.0 or later, which includes the security fix for this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

jQuery 3.5.0 or later

  1. Identify all instances of jQuery in the application and its dependencies (check package.json, bower.json, or included script tags)
  2. Upgrade jQuery to version 3.5.0 or later using your package manager (npm, yarn, or composer)
  3. Verify the upgrade by checking the jQuery version in the browser console using jQuery.fn.jquery or $().jquery
  4. Test all functionality that uses jQuery DOM manipulation methods (.html(), .append(), .prepend(), .after(), .before(), .wrap(), .wrapAll(), .wrapInner()) with HTML containing <option> elements
  5. For Drupal installations, also apply Drupal security updates: 7.70, 8.7.14, or 8.8.6 or later
  6. Re-scan the application to confirm the vulnerability is remediated
Caveat jQuery 3.5.0 includes security fixes that may affect existing code; review the jQuery 3.5.0 release notes for any migration considerations

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Jquery Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
26.0 hours of engineering $4,400
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-11023 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data