CVE-2026-40186

ApostropheCMS: sanitize-html allowedTags Bypass via Entity-Decoded Text in nonTextTags Elements

Published Apr 15, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 6.1 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
ApostropheCMS is an open-source Node.js content management system. A regression introduced in commit 49d0bb7, included in versions 2.17.1 of the ApostropheCMS-maintained sanitize-html package bypasses allowedTags enforcement for text inside nonTextTagsArray elements (textarea and option). ApostropheCMS version 4.28.0 is affected through its dependency on the vulnerable sanitize-html version. The code at packages/sanitize-html/index.js:569-573 incorrectly assumes that htmlparser2 does not decode entities inside these elements and skips escaping, but htmlparser2 10.x does decode entities before passing text to the ontext callback. As a result, entity-encoded HTML is decoded by the parser and then written directly to the output as literal HTML characters, completely bypassing the allowedTags filter. An attacker can inject arbitrary tags including XSS payloads through any allowed option or textarea element using entity encoding. This affects non-default configurations where option or textarea are included in allowedTags, which is common in form builders and CMS platforms. This issue has been fixed in version 2.17.2 of sanitize-html and 4.29.0 of ApostropheCMS.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-9mrh-v2v3-xpfm sanitize-html allowedTags Bypass via Entity-Decoded Text in nonTextTags Elements
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:apostrophecms:apostrophecms:4.29.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:apostrophecms:sanitize-html:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:*
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'poc', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Apostrophecms
Apostrophecms apostrophecms
Apostrophecms sanitize-html
Vendors & Products Apostrophecms
Apostrophecms apostrophecms
Apostrophecms sanitize-html
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description ApostropheCMS is an open-source Node.js content management system. A regression introduced in commit 49d0bb7, included in versions 2.17.1 of the ApostropheCMS-maintained sanitize-html package bypasses allowedTags enforcement for text inside nonTextTagsArray elements (textarea and option). ApostropheCMS version 4.28.0 is affected through its dependency on the vulnerable sanitize-html version. The code at packages/sanitize-html/index.js:569-573 incorrectly assumes that htmlparser2 does not decode entities inside these elements and skips escaping, but htmlparser2 10.x does decode entities before passing text to the ontext callback. As a result, entity-encoded HTML is decoded by the parser and then written directly to the output as literal HTML characters, completely bypassing the allowedTags filter. An attacker can inject arbitrary tags including XSS payloads through any allowed option or textarea element using entity encoding. This affects non-default configurations where option or textarea are included in allowedTags, which is common in form builders and CMS platforms. This issue has been fixed in version 2.17.2 of sanitize-html and 4.29.0 of ApostropheCMS.
Title ApostropheCMS: sanitize-html allowedTags Bypass via Entity-Decoded Text in nonTextTags Elements
Weaknesses CWE-79
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
GitHub_M
Published
Updated
Apr 16, 2026, 2:15 PM
Reserved
Apr 9, 2026, 8:59 PM
Status
Analyzed
Published
Apr 15, 2026, 9:17 PM
Modified
Oct 26, 2026, 9:10 PM