Loofah: SVG `href` attribute bypasses local-reference restriction
## Summary Loofah's HTML5 sanitizer restricted only the `xlink:href` attribute on certain SVG elements to local, same-document references. Browsers also accept a plain `href` attribute as an alternative to the deprecated `xlink:href` per the SVG 2 spec, but Loofah did not apply the same restriction to it, allowing those elements to reference arbitrary external documents. ## Impact SVG `<use>` can load and render external SVG content by reference. If the referenced external SVG is same-origin and contains scripts or other dangerous content, it could execute in the context of the sanitized document. `<feImage>` can load external images, which can be used for tracking. Modern browsers restrict cross-origin `<use>` fetches, which limits but does not eliminate the risk. Applications that sanitize user-supplied SVG (directly, or as part of HTML) with Loofah's default allowlist are affected. ## Mitigation Upgrade to Loofah >= 2.25.2. ## Credit Found by the maintainer, Mike Dalessio, during a security audit.
describes (1)
Related CVEs.
| ID | severity | exploitable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-73490US | — | — | ||
Loofah is a general library for manipulating and transforming HTML/XML documents and fragments, built on top of Nokogiri. Prior to 2.25.2, Loofah's HTML5 sanitizer applies its loca… | ||||
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