How severe is CVE-2022-32209?

CVE-2022-32209 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-2022-32209?

CVE-2022-32209 affects the following packages: rails-html-sanitizer (RubyGems). Ecosystems affected: RubyGems.

How do I fix CVE-2022-32209?

Update rails-html-sanitizer to 1.4.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-32209 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2022-32209 in my RubyGems dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-32209 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-2022-32209 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2022-32209, 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-2022-32209?

CVE-2022-32209 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 26.5%, placing it in the 98th 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 warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-32209?

CVE-2022-32209 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-2022-32209 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-32209 was published on June 24, 2022 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

💎

💎 RubyGems

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2022-32209 — rails-html-sanitizer

MEDIUMFix: rails/rails-html-sanitizer@45a5c10

CVE-2022-32209 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in rails-html-sanitizer. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for rails-html-sanitizer — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Rails::Html::Sanitizer vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting

Also known asGHSA-pg8v-g4xq-hww9

Published

Jun 24, 2022

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

1 known

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

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

26.5%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk-3.73%

Lower risk than most CVEs98th percentile — riskier than 98% 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

💎rails-html-sanitizer

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

Description

Possible XSS Vulnerability in Rails::Html::SanitizerThere is a possible XSS vulnerability with certain configurations of Rails::Html::Sanitizer.This vulnerability has been assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2022-32209.Versions Affected: ALLNot affected: NONEFixed Versions: v1.4.3## ImpactA possible XSS vulnerability with certain configurations of Rails::Html::Sanitizer may allow an attacker to inject content if the application developer has overridden the sanitizer's allowed tags to allow both `select` and `style` elements.Code is only impacted if allowed tags are being overridden. This may be done via application configuration:`ruby# In config/application.rbconfig.action_view.sanitized_allowed_tags = ["select", "style"]`see https://guides.rubyonrails.org/configuring.html#configuring-action-viewOr it may be done with a `:tags` option to the Action View helper `sanitize`:`<%= sanitize @comment.body, tags: ["select", "style"] %>`see https://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActionView/Helpers/SanitizeHelper.html#method-i-sanitizeOr it may be done with Rails::Html::SafeListSanitizer directly:`ruby# class-level optionRails::Html::SafeListSanitizer.allowed_tags = ["select", "style"]`or`ruby# instance-level optionRails::Html::SafeListSanitizer.new.sanitize(@article.body, tags: ["select", "style"])`All users overriding the allowed tags by any of the above mechanisms to include both "select" and "style" should either upgrade or use one of the workarounds immediately.## ReleasesThe FIXED releases are available at the normal locations.## WorkaroundsRemove either `select` or `style` from the overridden allowed tags.## CreditsThis vulnerability was responsibly reported by windshock.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
💎RubyGems	`rails-html-sanitizer`	all versions	1.4.3`bundle update rails-html-sanitizer --conservative`

Affected Products

3 products · 4 configurations

debian linuxdebian

1 version

10.0

fedorafedoraproject

2 versions

3536

Application

rails html sanitizersrubyonrails

< 1.4.3

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.

# Possible XSS Vulnerability in Rails::Html::SanitizerThere is a possibl…

hackerone.comNVDJul 2022

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for rails-html-sanitizer, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update rails-html-sanitizer to 1.4.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-32209 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 HatImportant

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat Satellite 6.12 for RHEL 8	`rubygem-rails-html-sanitizer-0:1.4.3-2.el8sat`	RHSA-2022:8506

Frequently Asked Questions

# Possible XSS Vulnerability in Rails::Html::SanitizerThere is a possible XSS vulnerability with certain configurations of Rails::Html::Sanitizer.This vulnerability has been assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2022-32209.Versions Affected: ALLNot affected: NONEFixed Versions: v1.4.3## ImpactA possible XSS vulnerability with certain configurations of Rails::Html::Sanitizer may allow an attacker to inject content if the application developer has overridden the sanitizer's allowed tags to allow both `select` and `style` elements.Code is only impacted if allowed tags are being overridden. This may be

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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