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Critical, CVSS 9.8amended

xmlhttprequest and xmlhttprequest-ssl vulnerable to Arbitrary Code Injection

CVE-2020-28502GHSA-h4j5-c7cj-74xg

What to do

Vendor fix available. Upgrade each affected package to the fixed version on its release line (xmlhttprequest-ssl 1.6.2; xmlhttprequest 1.7.0), redeploy, then verify what is actually installed.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

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Affected packages

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS
9.8 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
  • CVE-2020-28502: 4.63% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 91.72 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

This affects the package xmlhttprequest before 1.7.0; all versions of package xmlhttprequest-ssl. Provided requests are sent synchronously (async=False on xhr.open), malicious user input flowing into xhr.send could result in arbitrary code being injected and run.

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 2 · amended ·

    Amended from ghsa record GHSA-h4j5-c7cj-74xg

  2. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from osv record GHSA-h4j5-c7cj-74xg

Agent brief

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2020-28502

Advisory: xmlhttprequest and xmlhttprequest-ssl vulnerable to Arbitrary Code Injection
IDs: CVE-2020-28502, GHSA-h4j5-c7cj-74xg
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2020-28502 (revision 2, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 12:30 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.8)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: xmlhttprequest-ssl 1.6.2; xmlhttprequest 1.7.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm xmlhttprequest-ssl: affected < 1.6.2; fixed in 1.6.2
- npm xmlhttprequest: affected < 1.7.0; fixed in 1.7.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls xmlhttprequest-ssl --all`: lists every installed copy and version, including transitive ones. Run in the project root after `npm ci`.
- `npm ls xmlhttprequest --all`: lists every installed copy and version, including transitive ones. Run in the project root after `npm ci`.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on xmlhttprequest-ssl, xmlhttprequest.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-h4j5-c7cj-74xg (OSV record GHSA-h4j5-c7cj-74xg lists affected ranges: npm xmlhttprequest >=0 =0 <1.6.2 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-h4j5-c7cj-74xg (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-h4j5-c7cj-74xg lists affected ranges: npm xmlhttprequest >=0 =0 <1.6.2)

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