CVE-2012-6708 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in org.webjars.npm:jquery. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2012-6708 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Cross-Site Scripting in jquery
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
jquerynpmDescription
jQuery before 1.9.0 is vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting (XSS) attacks. The jQuery(strInput) function does not differentiate selectors from HTML in a reliable fashion. In vulnerable versions, jQuery determined whether the input was HTML by looking for the '<' character anywhere in the string, giving attackers more flexibility when attempting to construct a malicious payload. In fixed versions, jQuery only deems the input to be HTML if it explicitly starts with the '<' character, limiting exploitability only to attackers who can control the beginning of a string, which is far less common.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.webjars.npm:jquery | all versions | 1.9.0 |
| 📦npm | jquery | all versions | 1.9.0 |
| .NETNuGet | jQuery | all versions | 1.9.0 |
| 💎RubyGems | jquery-rails | all versions | 2.2.0 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Linksys EA7500 2.0.8.194281 - Cross-Site Scripting
by MiningOmerta · Mar 25, 2021
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.webjars.npm:jquery. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.webjars.npm:jquery to 1.9.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2012-6708 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2012-6708 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2012-6708. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2012-6708 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2012-6708 across Maven, npm, NuGet dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.