# CVE-2022-31175: CKEditor5 cross-site scripting in editor destroy process

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-31175-ckeditor5-cross-site-scripting-in-editor-destroy-process  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2022-08-06. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2022-31175 · Severity: low · CVSS 3.1 · Published 2022-08-06

CKEditor5 is a popular rich text editor used in web applications to allow users to create and edit content. A vulnerability in its editor destruction mechanism could allow an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript code that executes in a user's browser when the editor is destroyed under specific conditions. This could lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement of the web application.

Vendors: [CKSource](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/cksource), [npm](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/npm).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2022-31175 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2022-31175 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2022-31175?** Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.1, published 6 August 2022.

**Which products and versions are affected?** @ckeditor/ckeditor5-html-embed (npm) SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=35.0.1; @ckeditor/ckeditor5-html-support (npm) SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=35.0.1; @ckeditor/ckeditor5-markdown-gfm (npm) SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=35.0.1.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2022-31175?** Yes. @ckeditor/ckeditor5-html-embed (npm): upgrade to 35.0.1 or later; @ckeditor/ckeditor5-html-support (npm): upgrade to 35.0.1 or later; @ckeditor/ckeditor5-markdown-gfm (npm): upgrade to 35.0.1 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2022-31175 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2022-31175?** Check whether you run CKSource CKEditor 5 HTML Embed, CKSource CKEditor 5 HTML Support, CKSource CKEditor 5 Markdown GFM or one of the others listed 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

- @ckeditor/ckeditor5-html-embed (npm): upgrade to 35.0.1 or later

  ```sh
  npm install @ckeditor/ckeditor5-html-embed@35.0.1
  ```

- @ckeditor/ckeditor5-html-support (npm): upgrade to 35.0.1 or later

  ```sh
  npm install @ckeditor/ckeditor5-html-support@35.0.1
  ```

- @ckeditor/ckeditor5-markdown-gfm (npm): upgrade to 35.0.1 or later

  ```sh
  npm install @ckeditor/ckeditor5-markdown-gfm@35.0.1
  ```


## Technical details

This is a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability (CWE-79) triggered during the CKEditor5 editor instance destruction process. The root cause lies in a mechanism that updates the source element with markup from the CKEditor5 data pipeline after destroying the editor. The vulnerability requires three preconditions: (1) use of one of the three affected optional packages; for ckeditor5-html-support and ckeditor5-html-embed, additionally requires a configuration allowing unsafe markup; (2) editor initialization on a non-textarea element; (3) explicit editor destruction. The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction (triggering the specific initialization/destroy sequence). An attacker can execute arbitrary JavaScript in the victim's browser session context. The vulnerability was patched in version 35.0.1.

## Affected products

- CKSource @ckeditor/ckeditor5-markdown-gfm < 35.0.1
- CKSource @ckeditor/ckeditor5-html-support < 35.0.1
- CKSource @ckeditor/ckeditor5-html-embed < 35.0.1

## Identifiers

- CVE-2022-31175
- GHSA-42wq-rch8-6f6j

## Timeline

- 2022-08-03: disclosed: Vulnerability disclosed
- 2022-08-06: advisory: GHSA-42wq-rch8-6f6j published on GitHub advisory database
- 2022: patched: Fix available in version 35.0.1

## References

- [https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor5/security/advisories/GHSA-42wq-rch8-6f6j](https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor5/security/advisories/GHSA-42wq-rch8-6f6j)
- [https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/latest/features/general-html-support.html](https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/latest/features/general-html-support.html)
- [https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/latest/features/html-embed.html](https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/latest/features/html-embed.html)
- [https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/latest/features/markdown.html](https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/latest/features/markdown.html)
- [https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor5](https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor5)

## Related threats

- [CKEditor 5 cross-site scripting in HTML Support](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-28343-ckeditor-5-cross-site-scripting-in-html-support)
- [CKEditor 5 Markdown plugin regular expression denial of service](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2021-21254-ckeditor-5-markdown-plugin-regular-expression-denial-of-service)