# CVE-2017-18352: Google Rendertron reflected XSS in error reporting

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2017-18352-google-rendertron-reflected-xss-in-error-reporting  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2019-01-07. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2017-18352 · Severity: low · CVSS 3 · Published 2019-01-07

Rendertron is a headless Chrome rendering service used to serve fully-rendered web pages to search engines and crawlers. A reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in its error reporting allows an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript through crafted URLs, potentially stealing user session cookies or credentials from anyone who clicks a malicious link.

Technologies: [rendertron (npm)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/rendertron). Vendors: [npm](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/npm).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2017-18352 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2017-18352 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2017-18352?** Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3, published 7 January 2019.

**Which products and versions are affected?** rendertron (npm) SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=1.1.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2017-18352?** Yes. rendertron (npm): upgrade to 1.1.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2017-18352 attacked?** It is attacked over the network.

**Am I affected by CVE-2017-18352?** Check whether you run rendertron (npm) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- rendertron (npm): upgrade to 1.1.0 or later

  ```sh
  npm install rendertron@1.1.0
  ```


## Technical details

The vulnerability is a reflected XSS (CWE-79) in Rendertron's error handling mechanism. When an invalid URL is submitted to the service, the error message reflects the user-supplied URL back in the HTTP response without proper sanitization or encoding. An attacker can craft a malicious URL containing JavaScript payload, and when displayed in a victim's browser, the script executes in the context of the Rendertron origin. The attack requires user interaction (clicking a malicious link). The vulnerability affects all versions prior to 1.1.0, which added URL validation to restrict schemes to 'http' and 'https' and improved error message handling.

## Affected products

- Google Rendertron <1.1.0

## Identifiers

- CVE-2017-18352
- GHSA-j88m-953w-8r2c

## Timeline

- 2019-01-07: disclosed: GHSA published
- 2017-08-30: patched: PR #88 merged with fix including URL validation and improved error handling

## References

- [https://github.com/GoogleChrome/rendertron/pull/88](https://github.com/GoogleChrome/rendertron/pull/88)

## Related threats

- [Rendertron SSRF via specially crafted webpage](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2020-8902-rendertron-ssrf-via-specially-crafted-webpage)
- [Google Rendertron information disclosure of absolute file paths](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2017-18355-google-rendertron-information-disclosure-of-absolute-file-paths)
- [Google Rendertron local file inclusion vulnerability](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2017-18354-google-rendertron-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability)
- [Google rendertron unauthorized Chrome shutdown via _ah/stop route](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2017-18353-google-rendertron-unauthorized-chrome-shutdown-via-ah-stop-route)