What is CVE-2023-37905?

CVE-2023-37905 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in ckeditor-wordcount-plugin (npm), affecting versions <= 1.17.11. It is fixed in 1.17.12. Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session.

How severe is CVE-2023-37905?

CVE-2023-37905 has a CVSS score of 6.1 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.

Which versions of ckeditor-wordcount-plugin are affected by CVE-2023-37905?

ckeditor-wordcount-plugin (npm) versions <= 1.17.11 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2023-37905?

Yes. CVE-2023-37905 is fixed in 1.17.12. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2023-37905 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-37905 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

What actually determines whether CVE-2023-37905 is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

How do I fix CVE-2023-37905?

Upgrade ckeditor-wordcount-plugin to 1.17.12 or later.

CVE-2023-37905 in ckeditor-wordcount-plugin

Q: How severe is CVE-2023-37905?

CVE-2023-37905 has a CVSS score of 6.1 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.

Q: Which versions of ckeditor-wordcount-plugin are affected by CVE-2023-37905?

ckeditor-wordcount-plugin (npm) versions <= 1.17.11 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2023-37905?

Yes. CVE-2023-37905 is fixed in 1.17.12. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2023-37905 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2023-37905 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2023-37905 is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2023-37905?

Upgrade ckeditor-wordcount-plugin to 1.17.12 or later.

Summary

ckeditor-wordcount-plugin vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting in Source Mode of Editor

Problem

It has been discovered that the ckeditor-wordcount-plugin plugin for CKEditor4 is susceptible to cross-site scripting when switching to the source code mode.

Credits

@sypets for reporting this finding to the TYPO3 Security Team
@ohader for fixing the issue on behalf of the TYPO3 Security Team

Impact

Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session. Typical impact: session or credential theft, and actions taken as the user.

CVE-2023-37905 has a CVSS score of 6.1 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.17.12); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

ckeditor-wordcount-plugin (<= 1.17.11)

Security releases

ckeditor-wordcount-plugin → 1.17.12 (npm)

Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.

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Remediation advice

Update to version 1.17.12 of the ckeditor-wordcount-plugin plugin.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-37905? CVE-2023-37905 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in ckeditor-wordcount-plugin (npm), affecting versions <= 1.17.11. It is fixed in 1.17.12. Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session.
How severe is CVE-2023-37905? CVE-2023-37905 has a CVSS score of 6.1 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
Which versions of ckeditor-wordcount-plugin are affected by CVE-2023-37905? ckeditor-wordcount-plugin (npm) versions <= 1.17.11 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2023-37905? Yes. CVE-2023-37905 is fixed in 1.17.12. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2023-37905 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-37905 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
What actually determines whether CVE-2023-37905 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
How do I fix CVE-2023-37905? Upgrade ckeditor-wordcount-plugin to 1.17.12 or later.