GHSA-83rm-6c8r-g728
Vue I18n: escapeParameter does not prevent XSS through srcdoc in translation messages
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | vue-i18n | 9.14.5 | no fix listed |
| npm | vue-i18n | 10.0.8 | no fix listed |
| npm | vue-i18n | >= 11.1.10, < 11.4.14 | 11.4.14 |
| npm | vue-i18n | >= 12.0.0-alpha.4, < 12.0.0-alpha.5 | 12.0.0-alpha.5 |
| npm | petite-vue-i18n | 9.14.5 | no fix listed |
| npm | petite-vue-i18n | 10.0.8 | no fix listed |
| npm | petite-vue-i18n | >= 11.1.10, < 11.4.14 | 11.4.14 |
| npm | petite-vue-i18n | >= 12.0.0-alpha.4, < 12.0.0-alpha.5 | 12.0.0-alpha.5 |
| npm | @intlify/core-base | 9.14.5 | no fix listed |
| npm | @intlify/core-base | 10.0.8 | no fix listed |
| npm | @intlify/core-base | >= 11.1.10, < 11.4.14 | 11.4.14 |
| npm | @intlify/core-base | >= 12.0.0-alpha.4, < 12.0.0-alpha.5 | 12.0.0-alpha.5 |
| npm | @intlify/core | 9.14.5 | no fix listed |
| npm | @intlify/core | 10.0.8 | no fix listed |
| npm | @intlify/core | >= 11.1.10, < 11.4.14 | 11.4.14 |
| npm | @intlify/core | >= 12.0.0-alpha.4, < 12.0.0-alpha.5 | 12.0.0-alpha.5 |
| npm | @intlify/vue-i18n-core | 9.14.5 | no fix listed |
| npm | @intlify/vue-i18n-core | 10.0.8 | no fix listed |
| npm | @intlify/vue-i18n-core | >= 11.1.10, < 11.4.14 | 11.4.14 |
| npm | @intlify/vue-i18n-core | >= 12.0.0-alpha.4, < 12.0.0-alpha.5 | 12.0.0-alpha.5 |
| npm | @intlify/shared | 9.14.5 | no fix listed |
| npm | @intlify/shared | 10.0.8 | no fix listed |
| npm | @intlify/shared | >= 11.1.10, < 11.4.14 | 11.4.14 |
| npm | @intlify/shared | >= 12.0.0-alpha.4, < 12.0.0-alpha.5 | 12.0.0-alpha.5 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
### Summary
When `escapeParameter` is enabled (`escapeParameterHtml` in the Legacy API), Vue I18n passes the translated string through `sanitizeTranslatedHtml()`. The sanitizer escapes `<` and `>` in attribute values and neutralizes event handler attributes such as `onerror`, but it does not handle the `srcdoc` attribute of `<iframe>`.
The value of `srcdoc` is an HTML document: the browser decodes the character references in it and parses the result as a nested document in the same origin. The escaping and the neutralization done by the sanitizer are both character references, so they are undone inside `srcdoc`. This bypasses the fix for CVE-2025-53892 (GHSA-x8qp-wqqm-57ph).
### Details
`sanitizeTranslatedHtml()` ([`packages/shared/src/sanitize.ts` in v11.4.13](https://github.com/intlify/vue-i18n/blob/v11.4.13/packages/shared/src/sanitize.ts#L126-L162)) works on the final translated string:
1. It escapes `<`, `>`, `"` and `'` inside quoted attribute values.
2. It rewrites the `on` of event handler attributes to `on`.
3. It replaces `javascript:` URLs in `href`, `src`, `action` and `formaction` with `about:blank`.
Inside `srcdoc`, steps 1 and 2 only produce character references, which the browser decodes before parsing the value as a document. Markup inside `srcdoc` therefore survives the sanitizer, with escaping or without it.
This can be reached in three ways:
- **A parameter inside `srcdoc`.** With a message such as `<iframe srcdoc="{content}"></iframe>`, `escapeParameter` escapes `content` into character references, and the browser decodes them again.
- **Markup in a message.** A message that contains an `<iframe srcdoc="...">` keeps it after sanitizing. The documentation asks not to use HTML messages with content from users, but it also says that the sanitizer neutralizes event handlers in the final HTML.
- **Together with GHSA-8rc2-428q-7ww3.** When a call passes a list and named values, the named values are not escaped. An `<iframe srcdoc="...">` in a named value then reaches the sanitizer as markup, even with an ordinary message such as `{0} {name}`.
### PoC
```js
import { createI18n } from 'vue-i18n'
const i18n = createI18n({
legacy: false,
locale: 'en',
escapeParameter: true,
messages: {
en: { message: '<iframe srcdoc="<b>x</b>"></iframe>' }
}
})
console.log(i18n.global.t('message'))
// v11.4.13: <iframe srcdoc="<b>x</b>"></iframe>
```
The browser decodes the value and renders `<b>x</b>` as a separate document inside the `<iframe>`, in the same origin as the page. Any markup in that position is parsed the same way.
### Impact
Applications are affected when they enable `escapeParameter`, render translations as HTML (for example with `v-html`), and one of the following applies:
- an untrusted value is passed as a parameter that the message places inside `srcdoc`,
- message content is not fully trusted (for example crowdsourced or stored translations), or
- untrusted named values are passed in the same call as a list (GHSA-8rc2-428q-7ww3).
An attacker can then run script in the origin of the application (DOM-based XSS), despite the sanitizer.
Rendering through `<i18n-t>` is not affected, since it does not render translations as HTML.
### Patches
Fixed in 11.4.14 and 12.0.0-alpha.5. The sanitizer now neutralizes the `srcdoc` attribute itself, in the same way as event handler attributes.
v9 and v10 are no longer supported and will not be fixed. Please migrate to v11.
### Workarounds
- Do not render translations that can contain untrusted content with `v-html`. Use component interpolation (`<i18n-t>`) instead.
- Do not put `srcdoc` in translation messages, and do not pass values into it.
### References
- [CWE-79](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/79.html), [CWE-116](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/116.html)
- [GHSA-x8qp-wqqm-57ph](https://github.com/intlify/vue-i18n/security/advisories/GHSA-x8qp-wqqm-57ph) (CVE-2025-53892): the fix that added `sanitizeTranslatedHtml()`
- [GHSA-8rc2-428q-7ww3](https://github.com/intlify/vue-i18n/security/advisories/GHSA-8rc2-428q-7ww3): named values are not escaped when a list is also passed
- [HTML Standard: the `srcdoc` attribute](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/iframe-embed-object.html#attr-iframe-srcdoc)
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.
- https://github.com/intlify/vue-i18n/security/advisories/GHSA-83rm-6c8r-g728
- https://github.com/intlify/vue-i18n/pull/2679
- https://github.com/intlify/vue-i18n/commit/43391d20e7c85403cb59bdb21b5d542819f54042
- https://github.com/intlify/vue-i18n
- https://github.com/intlify/vue-i18n/releases/tag/v11.4.14
- https://github.com/intlify/vue-i18n/releases/tag/v12.0.0-alpha.5