CVE-2023-38506: Cross-site Scripting (XSS) when pasting HTML into the rich text editor in Joplin

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.4 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: yes
Published: 2024-06-21 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-79

Description

Joplin is a free, open source note taking and to-do application. A Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability allows pasting untrusted data into the rich text editor to execute arbitrary code. HTML pasted into the rich text editor is not sanitized (or not sanitized properly). As such, the `onload` attribute of pasted images can execute arbitrary code. Because the TinyMCE editor frame does not use the `sandbox` attribute, such scripts can access NodeJS's `require` through the `top` variable. From this, an attacker can run arbitrary commands. This issue has been addressed in version 2.12.10 and users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Affected products

laurent22 joplin: before 2.12.10 — fixed in 2.12.10

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: laurent22 joplin 2.12.10. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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