# Quill reverse tabnabbing via anchor links

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/quill-reverse-tabnabbing-via-anchor-links-046ad113  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2020-09-03. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

Severity: low · CVSS 3.1 · Published 2020-09-03

Quill is a popular rich text editor library used in web applications. The library uses HTML anchor tags with target="_blank" to open links in new tabs without properly securing them, allowing attackers to redirect the original page to a phishing site when users click links. This vulnerability can be exploited for phishing attacks and session hijacking.

Technologies: [quill (npm)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/quill). Vendors: [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 3 September 2020.

**Which products and versions are affected?** quill (npm) SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=1.3.7.

**Is there a fix for This vulnerability?** Yes. quill (npm): upgrade to 1.3.7 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 quill (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

- quill (npm): upgrade to 1.3.7 or later

  ```sh
  npm install quill@1.3.7
  ```


## Technical details

This is a reverse tabnabbing vulnerability (CWE-1022) in the anchor tag creation logic of Quill's link format handler. When Quill renders links with target="_blank", it fails to set the rel="noopener noreferrer" attribute, which normally prevents the opened page from accessing the window.opener object. An attacker-controlled destination page can use window.opener to redirect the original tab to a malicious phishing page. The vulnerability is exploitable in both normal editing mode and read-only display mode where users click embedded links. No user privilege or authentication is required; only user interaction (clicking a link) is needed. The fix involves adding rel="noopener noreferrer" to anchor tags created by the formats/link.js module. Version 1.3.7 and later contain the patch.

## Affected products

- Quill Quill < 1.3.7

## Timeline

- 2020-09-03: disclosed

## References

- [https://github.com/quilljs/quill/issues/2438](https://github.com/quilljs/quill/issues/2438)
- [https://github.com/quilljs/quill/pull/2674](https://github.com/quilljs/quill/pull/2674)
- [https://github.com/quilljs/quill](https://github.com/quilljs/quill)
- [https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/1039](https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/1039)

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