# Excalidraw cross-site scripting in embedded links

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/excalidraw-cross-site-scripting-in-embedded-links-403a9a98  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2023-08-16. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

Severity: low · CVSS 3.1 · Published 2023-08-16

Excalidraw is a popular open-source whiteboarding application. The library was vulnerable to cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks through improperly sanitized links embedded in whiteboard objects, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts that could execute in users' browsers and steal data or perform unauthorized actions.

Technologies: [Excalidraw](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/excalidraw), [@excalidraw/excalidraw (npm)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/excalidraw-excalidraw). Vendors: [Excalidraw](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/excalidraw), [npm](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/npm).

## Quick answers

**Is This vulnerability exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of This vulnerability being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is This vulnerability?** Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.1, published 16 August 2023.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Excalidraw 0.0.0 to 0.15.2; @excalidraw/excalidraw (npm) SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=0.15.3.

**Is there a fix for This vulnerability?** Yes. @excalidraw/excalidraw (npm): upgrade to 0.15.3 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is This vulnerability attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected?** Check whether you run Excalidraw or @excalidraw/excalidraw (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

- @excalidraw/excalidraw (npm): upgrade to 0.15.3 or later

  ```sh
  npm install @excalidraw/excalidraw@0.15.3
  ```


## Technical details

The vulnerability is a CWE-79 cross-site scripting (XSS) flaw in @excalidraw/excalidraw where embedded links in whiteboard objects were not properly sanitized. The root cause was insufficient input validation in the link normalization logic. An attacker can craft a whiteboard containing a malicious link that, when opened by a user, executes arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the web application. The attack requires user interaction (clicking the link) and is network-reachable. The fix was implemented in version 0.15.3 via stronger enforcement of the normalizeLink function.

## Affected products

- Excalidraw excalidraw 0.0.0 to 0.15.2

## Timeline

- 2023-08-16: disclosed
- 2023-06-29: patched: Fix merged in PR #6728
- 2023-08-16: other: Advisory withdrawn as duplicate of GHSA-v7v8-gjv7-ffmr

## References

- [https://github.com/excalidraw/excalidraw/pull/6728](https://github.com/excalidraw/excalidraw/pull/6728)

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