CVE-2022-25887Network attack vector

Service interruption via inefficient HTML-comment regex

Published Aug 30, 2022 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Regular expression denial of service in ApostropheCMS sanitize-html before 2.7.1 allows remote attackers to interrupt service via crafted HTML. In sanitizeHtml, the href comment-removal step applies a global regular expression to attacker-controlled attribute values, causing excessive backtracking. Exposure requires an application to pass attacker-controlled HTML to the library; processing can consume excessive CPU and stall the hosting Node.js process.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.45%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Regular expression denial of service in ApostropheCMS sanitize-html before 2.7.1 allows remote attackers to interrupt service via crafted HTML. In sanitizeHtml, the href comment-removal step applies a global regular expression to attacker-controlled attribute values, causing excessive backtracking. Exposure requires an application to pass attacker-controlled HTML to the library; processing can consume excessive CPU and stall the hosting Node.js process.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-25887
Published
Aug 30, 2022
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
ApostropheCMS
Product
sanitize-html
Classifications
CWE-1333, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 30, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <2.7.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

ApostropheCMS · sanitize-htmlversion=unspecified <2.7.1

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.3Snyk Security TeamCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-1333Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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