CVE-2021-32641 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in auth0-lock. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for auth0-lock — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Reflected XSS when using flashMessages or languageDictionary
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2021-32641 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
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.
auth0-locknpmDescription
Overview
Versions before and including 11.30.0 are vulnerable to reflected XSS. An attacker can execute arbitrary code when the library's
flashMessagefeature is utilized and user input or data from URL parameters is incorporated into theflashMessage.languageDictionaryfeature is utilized and user input or data from URL parameters is incorporated into thelanguageDictionary.
Am I affected?
You are affected by this vulnerability if you are using auth0-lock version 11.30.0 or lower and all of the following conditions apply:
- You are utilizing
flashMessagefeature. - User input or data from URL parameters is incorporated into the
flashMessage.
An example of a vulnerable snippet where query parameters are used to populate the text property of a flashMessage.
var params = new URLSearchParams(location.search);
var errorMessage = params.get('error__message');
var showParams = {};
if (!!errorMessage === true) {
showParams.flashMessage = {
type: 'error',
text: 'We were unable to log you in. ' + errorMessage,
};
}
lock.show(showParams);
OR
- You are utilizing
languageDictionaryfeature. - User input or data from URL parameters is used in
languageDictionaryproperties.
An example of a vulnerable snippet where query parameters are used to populate the socialLoginInstructions property of a languageDictionary.
var params = new URLSearchParams(location.search);
var instruction = params.get('instruction');
var options = {
languageDictionary: {
emailInputPlaceholder: "[email protected]",
title: "title",
socialLoginInstructions: instruction
},
};
var lock = new Auth0LockPasswordless(
CLIENT_ID,
DOMAIN,
options
);
lock.show()
How to fix that?
Upgrade to version 11.30.1.
Will this update impact my users?
The fix uses DOMPurify to sanitise the flashMessage and languageDictionary inputs. If you are including inline JavaScript in these fields, like script tags or onclick attributes, these will be removed.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | auth0-lock | all versions | 11.30.1npm install auth0-lock@11.30.1 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for auth0-lock, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update auth0-lock to 11.30.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-32641 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2021-32641 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2021-32641. 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-2021-32641 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2021-32641 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.