How severe is CVE-2020-28502?

CVE-2020-28502 has a CVSS score of 8.1/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-28502?

CVE-2020-28502 affects the following packages: xmlhttprequest (npm), xmlhttprequest-ssl (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2020-28502?

Update xmlhttprequest to 1.7.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-28502 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2020-28502 in my npm dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-28502 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Is CVE-2020-28502 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 6 known exploit references for CVE-2020-28502, including 5 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

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

CVE-2020-28502 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 4.6%, placing it in the 91th 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-2020-28502?

CVE-2020-28502 is classified as Code Injection (CWE-94). 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-2020-28502 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-28502 was published on March 5, 2021 and was last updated on July 8, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2020-28502 — xmlhttprequest

HIGHFix: driverdan/node-XMLHttpRequest@983cfc2

CVE-2020-28502 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Code Injection vulnerability in xmlhttprequest. 6 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for xmlhttprequest — see the affected versions and patch details below.

xmlhttprequest and xmlhttprequest-ssl vulnerable to Arbitrary Code Injection

Also known asGHSA-h4j5-c7cj-74xg

Published

Mar 5, 2021

Updated

Jul 8, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

6 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 9, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

4.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs91th percentile — riskier than 91% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2020-28502 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,987 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected

How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.

1Kother npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

xmlhttprequestnpm

1.5Mdownloads / week

xmlhttprequest-sslnpm

14.8Mdownloads / week

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.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`xmlhttprequest`	all versions	1.7.0`npm install xmlhttprequest@1.7.0`
📦npm	`xmlhttprequest-ssl`	all versions	1.6.2`npm install xmlhttprequest-ssl@1.6.2`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

xmlhttprequestxmlhttprequest_project

< 1.7.0

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.