CVE-2023-49293
mediumpriority · track · 24EPSS 0.010 · 63 %ileEURUUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-27
Vite is a website frontend framework. When Vite's HTML transformation is invoked manually via `server.transformIndexHtml`, the original request URL is passed in unmodified, and the `html` being transformed contains inline module scripts (`<script type="module">...</script>`), it is possible to inject arbitrary HTML into the transformed output by supplying a malicious URL query string to `server.transformIndexHtml`. Only apps using `appType: 'custom'` and using the default Vite HTML middleware are affected. The HTML entry must also contain an inline script. The attack requires a user to click on a malicious URL while running the dev server. Restricted files aren't exposed to the attacker. This issue has been addressed in vite@5.0.5, vite@4.5.1, and vite@4.4.12. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
cvss
Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.
base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode
ssvc
A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.
weaknesses
The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.
affected products (11)
Products and version ranges known to be affected.
advisories (1)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- GHSA-92r3-m2mg-pj97Vite XSS vulnerability in `server.transformIndexHtml` via URL payload2023-12-05ghsa · osvUS
### Summary When Vite's HTML transformation is invoked manually via `server.transformIndexHtml`, the original request URL is passed in unmodified, and the `html` being transformed contains inline module scripts (`<script type="module">...</script>`), it is possible to inject arbitrary HTML into the transformed output by supplying a malicious URL query string to `server.transformIndexHtml`. ### Impact Only apps using `appType: 'custom'` and using the default Vite HTML middleware are affected. The HTML entry must also contain an inline script. The attack requires a user to click on a malicious URL while running the dev server. Restricted files aren't exposed to the attacker. ### Patches Fixed in vite@5.0.5, vite@4.5.1, vite@4.4.12 ### Details Suppose `index.html` contains an inline module script: ```html <script type="module"> // Inline script </script> ``` This script is transformed into a proxy script like ```html <script type="module" src="/index.html?html-proxy&index=0.js"></script> ``` due to Vite's HTML plugin: https://github.com/vitejs/vite/blob/7fd7c6cebfcad34ae7021ebee28f97b1f28ef3f3/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/html.ts#L429-L465 When `appType: 'spa' | 'mpa'`, Vite serves HTML itself, and `htmlFallbackMiddleware` rewrites `req.url` to the canonical path of `index.html`, https://github.com/vitejs/vite/blob/73ef074b80fa7252e0c46a37a2c94ba8cba46504/packages/vite/src/node/server/middlewares/htmlFallback.ts#L44-L47 so the `url` passed to `server.transformIndexHtml` is `/index.html`. However, if `appType: 'custom'`, HTML is served manually, and if `server.transformIndexHtml` is called with the unmodified request URL (as the SSR docs suggest), then the path of the transformed `html-proxy` script varies with the request URL. For example, a request with path `/` produces ```html <script type="module" src="/@id/__x00__/index.html?html-proxy&index=0.js"></script> ``` It is possible to abuse this behavior by crafting a request URL to contain a malicious payload like ``` "></script><script>alert('boom')</script> ``` so a request to http://localhost:5173/?%22%3E%3C/script%3E%3Cscript%3Ealert(%27boom%27)%3C/script%3E produces HTML output like ```html <script type="module" src="/@id/__x00__/?"></script><script>alert("boom")</script>?html-proxy&index=0.js"></script> ``` which demonstrates XSS. ### PoC - Example 1. Serving HTML from `vite dev` middleware with `appType: 'custom'` - Go to https://stackblitz.com/edit/vitejs-vite-9xhma4?file=main.js&terminal=dev-html - "Open in New Tab" - Edit URL to set query string to `?%22%3E%3C/script%3E%3Cscript%3Ealert(%27boom%27)%3C/script%3E` and navigate - Witness XSS: -  - Example 2. Serving HTML from SSR-style Express server (Vite dev server runs in middleware mode): - Go to https://stackblitz.com/edit/vitejs-vite-9xhma4?file=main.js&terminal=server - (Same steps as above) - Example 3. Plain `vite dev` (this shows that vanilla `vite dev` is _not_ vulnerable, provided `htmlFallbackMiddleware` is used) - Go to https://stackblitz.com/edit/vitejs-vite-9xhma4?file=main.js&terminal=dev - (Same steps as above) - You should _not_ see the alert box in this case ### Detailed Impact This will probably predominantly affect [development-mode SSR](https://vitejs.dev/guide/ssr#setting-up-the-dev-server), where `vite.transformHtml` is called using the original `req.url`, per the docs: https://github.com/vitejs/vite/blob/7fd7c6cebfcad34ae7021ebee28f97b1f28ef3f3/docs/guide/ssr.md?plain=1#L114-L126 However, since this vulnerability affects `server.transformIndexHtml`, the scope of impact may be higher to also include other ad-hoc calls to `server.transformIndexHtml` from outside of Vite's own codebase. My best guess at bisecting which versions are vulnerable involves the following test script ```js import fs from 'node:fs/promises'; import * as vite from 'vite'; const html = ` <!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8" /> </head> <body> <script type="module"> // Inline script </script> </body> </html> `; const server = await vite.createServer({ appType: 'custom' }); const transformed = await server.transformIndexHtml('/?%22%3E%3C/script%3E%3Cscript%3Ealert(%27boom%27)%3C/script%3E', html); console.log(transformed); await server.close(); ``` and using it I was able to narrow down to #13581. If this is correct, then vulnerable Vite versions are 4.4.0-beta.2 and higher (which includes 4.4.0).
also known as (4)
Other names and identifiers for this entity.
sources
Which sources assert this record, and when.
references (5)
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2023-49293cnnvd
- https://github.com/vitejs/vite/security/advisories/GHSA-92r3-m2mg-pj97cnnvd
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-49293cnnvd
- https://github.com/vitejs/vite/security/advisories/GHSA-92r3-m2mg-pj97enisa_euvd
- https://github.com/vitejs/vite/security/advisories/GHSA-92r3-m2mg-pj97ExploitThird Party Advisorynvd
Attackers weaponise vulnerabilities like this against internet-exposed services. See what is exposed on your perimeter with a free passive scan.
Free scan