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Public proof of conceptFix available

CVE-2020-28502

A public proof of concept exists; no exploitation attested.

  • Published2021-03-05
  • Fixed in1.7.0
  • WeaknessCWE-94

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

This affects the package xmlhttprequest before 1.7.0; all versions of package xmlhttprequest-ssl. Provided requests are sent synchronously (async=False on xhr.open), malicious user input flowing into xhr.send could result in arbitrary code being injected and run.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2021-03-0518:15CVE publishedNVD

Versions per branch

NVD · OSV
Xmlhttprequest project xmlhttprequest
BranchAffectedFixed in
1.7< 1.7.01.7.0
xmlhttprequest-ssl
BranchAffectedFixed in
1.6< 1.6.21.6.2

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

  • node-xmlhttprequestUbuntu:18.04:LTSall versions · no fixed version listedand 1 other package
  • node-xmlhttprequestUbuntu:16.04:LTSall versions · no fixed version listed
  • node-xmlhttprequestDebian:14all versions · fixed in 1.8.0-1
  • node-xmlhttprequestDebian:13all versions · fixed in 1.8.0-1
  • node-xmlhttprequestDebian:12all versions · fixed in 1.8.0-1
  • node-xmlhttprequest-sslUbuntu:20.04:LTSall versions · no fixed version listed
  • xmlhttprequestTuxCare:npmfrom 1.4.2-tuxcare.0 · fixed in 1.4.2-tuxcare.1
  • xmlhttprequest-sslTuxCare:npmfrom 1.5.5-tuxcare.0 · fixed in 1.5.5-tuxcare.1

1 more package range on OSV.dev

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2020-28502 Red Hat Product Security

    nodejs-xmlhttprequest: Code injection through user input to xhr.send

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Xmlhttprequest project xmlhttprequest to 1.7.0

Detection

read 2026-11-01 01:02 UTC
Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof of concept
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

  • CNACVSS 3.18.1known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.18.1read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.06.8read 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-94read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score4.6 %2026-11-04
  • PoC-in-GitHubproof of concept2known since 2026-11-01
  • OSVaffected packages—
  • GitHub AdvisoriesadvisoryCRITICAL2021-03-18

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2021-03-05
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-h4j5-c7cj-74xg

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-28502?

This affects the package xmlhttprequest before 1.7.0; all versions of package xmlhttprequest-ssl. Provided requests are sent synchronously (async=False on xhr.open), malicious user input flowing into xhr.send could result in arbitrary code being injected and run.

Is CVE-2020-28502 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2020-28502 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 4.6% on 2026-11-04, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2020-28502?

CVE-2020-28502 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.1 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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