How severe is CVE-2020-9038?

CVE-2020-9038 has a CVSS score of 5.4/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-9038?

CVE-2020-9038 affects the following packages: joplin (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2020-9038?

Update joplin to 1.2.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-9038 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2020-9038 in my npm dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-9038 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-2020-9038 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 4 known exploit references for CVE-2020-9038, including 1 documented proof-of-concept exploit on Exploit-DB and 2 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-2020-9038?

CVE-2020-9038 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 3.6%, placing it in the 89th 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-2020-9038?

CVE-2020-9038 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-2020-9038 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-9038 was published on February 17, 2020 and was last updated on August 7, 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

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2020-9038 — joplin

MEDIUMFix: laurent22/joplin@3db47b5

CVE-2020-9038 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.4) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in joplin. 4 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for joplin — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Cross-site Scripting in Joplin

Also known asGHSA-6r7x-hc8m-985r

Published

Feb 17, 2020

Updated

Aug 7, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

4 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

3.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs89th percentile — riskier than 89% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2020-9038 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg 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.

3other npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

joplinnpm

1Kdownloads / week

Description

Joplin through 1.0.184 allows Arbitrary File Read via Cross-site Scripting (XSS).

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`joplin`	all versions	1.2.1`npm install joplin@1.2.1`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

joplinjoplin_project

≤ 1.0.184

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.

EDB-48147webappsmultiple

Joplin Desktop 1.0.184 - Cross-Site Scripting

by Javier Olmedo · Mar 2, 2020

Exploit-DB Source

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for joplin, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update joplin to 1.2.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-9038 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

Joplin through 1.0.184 allows Arbitrary File Read via Cross-site Scripting (XSS).

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2020-9038 in your dependencies?

Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

5.4/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

None

Raw vector

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

CWE Classification

CWE-79Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

Weaponization

No known public exploit tooling found.

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

joplin

4.7/10

Maintained10/10

Code-Review5/10

Branch-ProtectionN/A

Assessed Oct 5, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Feb 17, 2020

First exploit

Mar 2, 2020

Last updated

Aug 7, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2020-9038

GHSA-6r7x-hc8m-985r

References

Advisorynvd.nist.gov Fixgithub.com Fixgithub.com Packagegithub.com Evidencepacketstormsecurity.com

Related vulnerabilities

This CVE is medium severity; 8 of 8 other CVEs affecting joplin are rated as high or higher (top: critical).

CVE-2024-49362CVE-2023-37299CVE-2023-37298CVE-2022-45598CVE-2022-40277CVE-2022-35131CVE-2021-33295CVE-2021-37916

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedAug 7, 2026