GHSA-r68h-jhhj-9jvm
Validator.isValidSafeHTML is being deprecated and will be deleted from org.owasp.esapi:esapi in 1 year
Blast Radius
org.owasp.esapi:esapiReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
The Validator.isValidSafeHTML method can result in false negatives where it reports some input as safe (i.e., returns true), but really isn't, and using that same input as-is can in certain circumstances result in XSS vulnerabilities. Because this method cannot be fixed, it is being deprecated and will be removed in one years time from when this advisory is published. Full details may be found in ESAPI Security Bulletin #12.
Note that all versions of ESAPI, that have this method (which dates back to at least the ESAPI 1.3 release more than 15 years ago) have this issue and it will continue to exist until we remove these two methods in a future ESAPI release.
Patches
There is no patch. We do not believe that it is possible to patch this pretentiously named method other then perhaps renaming it to something like Validator.mightThisBeValidSafeHTML to dissuade developers from using it.
Workarounds
Stop using this method. Note that Validator.getValidSafeHTML is believed to be safe to use with the default antisamy-esapi.xml AntiSamy policy file.
Why is no CVE being filed?
We outline the reasons in the section "Why no CVE for this issue?" in ESAPI Security Bulletin #12. If after reading that, if you still want to file a CVE or this, knock yourself out.
References
CWE-79 CWE-80 ESAPI Security Bulletin #12
Final resolution
This GitHub Security Advisory should now be considered remediated in ESAPI versions 2.6.0.0 and later as the deprecated methods have been removed from the ESAPI jar.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.owasp.esapi:esapi | all versions | 2.6.0.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.owasp.esapi:esapi. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.owasp.esapi:esapi to 2.6.0.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-r68h-jhhj-9jvm 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-r68h-jhhj-9jvm is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-r68h-jhhj-9jvm. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-r68h-jhhj-9jvm in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-r68h-jhhj-9jvm across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.