How severe is CVE-2016-5394?

CVE-2016-5394 has a CVSS score of 6.1/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2016-5394?

CVE-2016-5394 affects the following packages: org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss (Maven), org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss.compat (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2016-5394?

Update org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss to 1.0.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2016-5394 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2016-5394 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2016-5394 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

Is CVE-2016-5394 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2016-5394 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2016-5394?

CVE-2016-5394 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 2.6%, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2016-5394?

CVE-2016-5394 is classified as Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (CWE-79). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2016-5394 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2016-5394 was published on May 13, 2022 and was last updated on February 16, 2024. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2016-5394 — org.apache.sling.xss

MEDIUMFix: apache/sling-org-apache-sling-xss@de32b14

CVE-2016-5394 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss. A fix is available for org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Cross site scripting in Apache Sling

Published

May 13, 2022

Updated

Feb 16, 2024

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 6, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

2.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs85th percentile — riskier than 85% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected

☕org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss☕org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss.compat

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

In the XSS Protection API module before 1.0.12 in Apache Sling, the encoding done by the XSSAPI.encodeForJSString() method is not restrictive enough and for some input patterns allows script tags to pass through unencoded, leading to potential XSS vulnerabilities.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss`	all versions	1.0.12`org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss:1.0.12`
☕Maven	`org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss.compat`	all versions	1.1.0`org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss.compat:1.1.0`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

slingapache

< 1.0.12

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss to 1.0.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2016-5394 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2016-5394 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

6.1/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

None

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

CWE Classification

CWE-79Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

Weaponization

No Nuclei template, Metasploit module or public proof-of-concept found.

Timeline

Disclosed

May 13, 2022

Last updated

Feb 16, 2024

Identifiers

CVE-2016-5394

References

Advisorynvd.nist.gov · CVE 2016 5394 Webgithub.com · de32b144ad2be3367559f6184d560db42a220529 Webgithub.com · CVE 2016 5394 Weblists.apache.org · 332166037a54b97cf41e2b616aaed38439de94b19b204841478e4525@<dev.sling.apache.org>Websecurityfocus.com

Related vulnerabilities

Also affects org.apache.sling.xss

This CVE is medium severity; 2 of 2 other CVEs affecting org.apache.sling.xss are rated as high or higher (top: critical).

CVE-2016-6798CVE-2017-15717

Same weakness: CWE-79

This CVE is medium severity; 6 of 6 other CVEs with CWE-79 are rated as high or higher (top: critical).

CVE-2026-55649CVE-2026-113787CVE-2026-44267CVE-2026-96632CVE-2026-9086CVE-2026-118246Browse all CWE-79

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedFeb 16, 2024