How severe is CVE-2021-23648?

CVE-2021-23648 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-2021-23648?

CVE-2021-23648 affects the following packages: @braintree/sanitize-url (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2021-23648?

Update @braintree/sanitize-url to 6.0.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-23648 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-23648 in my npm dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-23648 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-2021-23648 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2021-23648, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation 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-2021-23648?

CVE-2021-23648 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.4%, placing it in the 73th 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-2021-23648?

CVE-2021-23648 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-2021-23648 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-23648 was published on March 16, 2022 and was last updated on October 20, 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-2021-23648 — @braintree/sanitize-url

MEDIUMFix: braintree/sanitize-url#40

CVE-2021-23648 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in @braintree/sanitize-url. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for @braintree/sanitize-url — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Cross-site Scripting in sanitize-url

Also known asGHSA-hqq7-2q2v-82xqSNYK-JS-BRAINTREESANITIZEURL-2339882

Published

Mar 16, 2022

Updated

Oct 20, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

1 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 29, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs73th percentile — riskier than 73% 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

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.

403other npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

@braintree/sanitize-urlnpm

27.0Mdownloads / week

Description

The package @braintree/sanitize-url before 6.0.0 is vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting (XSS) due to improper sanitization in the sanitizeUrl function.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`@braintree/sanitize-url`	all versions	6.0.0`npm install @braintree/sanitize-url@6.0.0`

Affected Products

2 products · 4 configurations

fedorafedoraproject

3 versions

343536

Application

braintree\/sanitize-urlpaypal

< 6.0.0

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.

The package @braintree/sanitize-url before 6.0.0 are vulnerable to Cross…

snyk.ioNVDMar 2022

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for @braintree/sanitize-url, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update @braintree/sanitize-url to 6.0.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-23648 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.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatModerate

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8	`grafana-0:7.5.15-3.el8`	RHSA-2022:7519
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9	`grafana-0:7.5.15-3.el9`	RHSA-2022:8057
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.11	`openshift4/ose-grafana:v4.11.0-202208020235.p0.g6773185.assembly.stream`	RHSA-2022:5069

Frequently Asked Questions

The package `@braintree/sanitize-url` before 6.0.0 is vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting (XSS) due to improper sanitization in the `sanitizeUrl` function.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-23648 in your dependencies?

Find it across npm, 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 or Metasploit module yet. 1 public proof-of-concept reference is listed on this page.

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

sanitize-url

5.8/10

Code-Review6/10

Maintained0/10

Branch-Protection5/10

Assessed Oct 26, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Mar 16, 2022

First exploit

Mar 28, 2022

Last updated

Oct 20, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2021-23648

GHSA-hqq7-2q2v-82xq

SNYK-JS-BRAINTREESANITIZEURL-2339882

References

Advisorynvd.nist.gov · CVE 2021 23648 Fixgithub.com Fixgithub.com · e5afda45d9833682b705f73fc2c1265d34832183 Fixsnyk.io · SNYK JS BRAINTREESANITIZEURL 2339882 Webgithub.com · index.ts#L11 Weblists.fedoraproject.org · 2PFW6Q2LXXWTFRTMTRN4ZGADFRQPKJ3D Weblists.fedoraproject.org · 36GUEPA5TPSC57DZTPYPBL6T7UPQ2FRH Weblists.fedoraproject.org · HLAQRRGNSO5MYCPAXGPH2OCSHOGHSQMQ Weblists.fedoraproject.org · 2PFW6Q2LXXWTFRTMTRN4ZGADFRQPKJ3D Weblists.fedoraproject.org · 36GUEPA5TPSC57DZTPYPBL6T7UPQ2FRH Weblists.fedoraproject.org · HLAQRRGNSO5MYCPAXGPH2OCSHOGHSQMQ Packagegithub.com · sanitize url

Related vulnerabilities

Also affects @braintree/sanitize-url

This CVE is medium severity, in line with the other 1 CVE affecting @braintree/sanitize-url.

CVE-2022-48345

Same weakness: CWE-79

This CVE is medium severity; 7 of 7 other CVEs with CWE-79 are rated as high or higher (top: critical).

CVE-2026-55649CVE-2026-113787CVE-2026-44267CVE-2026-96632CVE-2026-9086CVE-2026-118246CVE-2026-118251Browse all CWE-79

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedOct 20, 2026