High

@nuxtjs/mdc's URL sanitizer misses SVG xlink:href and data:text/html, allowing XSS from untrusted markdown at the default configuration

  • Disclosed: 16.09.2026
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 10:22

Summary

@nuxtjs/mdc renders untrusted markdown (including raw HTML) to a Vue component tree. Across two prior advisories it added a URL/attribute sanitizer to block dangerous links in that HTML: validateProps / validateProp and an unsafeLinkPrefix deny-list (dist/runtime/parser/utils/props.js). The sanitizer runs at parse time (dist/runtime/parser/compiler.js) and parseMarkdown enables raw HTML by default (allowDangerousHtml: true, dist/runtime/parser/options.js), so the sanitizer is the only barrier and it applies with no configuration required.

Two sibling vectors bypass that sanitizer at the default configuration:

  1. SVG anchor xlink:href. validateProp only scheme-checks attributes named exactly href or src:

    if (attribute === "href" || attribute === "src") return isAnchorLinkAllowed(value);
    return true;

    An xlink:href (parsed to the hast property xLinkHref) is neither, so a javascript: URL on an SVG <a> is passed through. The renderer maps the property back to the real attribute (MDCRenderer.vue: find(html, "xLinkHref").attribute is xlink:href), so the output element is <a xlink:href="javascript:...">. Clicking it runs the script in the page origin. Plain <a href="javascript:..."> is correctly stripped, which is what makes this the un-patched sibling.

  2. <iframe src="data:text/html,...">. data:text/html is present in unsafeLinkPrefix, but the check compares it against url.protocol:

    if (unsafeLinkPrefix.some((prefix) => url.protocol.toLowerCase().startsWith(prefix))) return false;

    For any data URI url.protocol is just "data:", so "data:".startsWith("data:text/html") is always false. Every data:text/* entry in the deny-list is therefore dead code, and <iframe src="data:text/html,<script>...</script>"> is allowed (iframe is not in the render-time dangerousTags, which is only ["script","base"]). The framed document executes script in an opaque origin. For contrast, srcdoc and object are blocked, so this is a precise gap rather than a general absence of filtering.

Reproduction

I will attach the zip file for POC, you can simply extract and run ./poc.sh to install mdc and show the poc in the html file. nuxtjs-mdc-xss_poc.zip

Two zero-argument checks:

  1. sh poc/poc.sh installs @nuxtjs/mdc and runs parseMarkdown (the documented API) at default. It shows the parsed tree retains a { xLinkHref: "javascript:..." } and iframe { src: "data:text/html,..." }, while the control payloads href="javascript:..." and srcdoc=... are removed by the sanitizer. This isolates the sanitizer bypass deterministically.
  2. poc/poc.sh also serves poc/poc.html over http (data: iframes and javascript: links are restricted under the file:// origin, so http is used). Open the printed URL and click the blue SVG link. The page contains the exact DOM the renderer produces for those parsed nodes; clicking the SVG link executes script in the page origin (same-origin), and the data:text/html iframe executes on load. The page prints VULNERABLE for each that fires.

Both vectors were confirmed executing in a current Chromium build: the SVG xlink:href link runs script in the document origin on click, and the data:text/html iframe runs script on load.

Suggested fix

In validateProp, scheme-check xlink:href (and the hast xLinkHref) the same way as href/src. In isAnchorLinkAllowed, compare the dangerous MIME-typed entries against the full URL (or href), not against url.protocol, so data:text/html is actually matched; or add iframe to the render-time dangerous-tag set / restrict iframe src schemes.

Affected software

Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.

PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
npm package @nuxtjs/mdc < 0.22.1 0.22.1

References

CVSS score 8.1/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-184, CWE-79
Platform
npm
Package
@nuxtjs/mdc
Disclosed
16.09.2026
Updated
11.10.2026 10:22

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-mxm6-v9r6-r94c - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: @nuxtjs/mdc

All published vulnerabilities of this package (npm package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

Total entries
3
First → latest
02.2025 09.2026
Without a fix
0
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 1
  • High 2

Disclosures per year

  1. 2025: 2
  2. 2026: 1
  1. @nuxtjs/mdc's URL sanitizer misses SVG xlink:href and data:text/html, allowing XSS from untrusted markdown at the default configuration this entry
    High · 8.1 CVE-2026-63671 < 0.22.1 0.22.1

Know which vulnerabilities affect your application

With the DockRay integration and software inventory enabled, DockRay checks reported component versions against known vulnerabilities and notifies you about confirmed matches. Coverage depends on the supported technology and available advisory data.

Connect your application
DockRay newsletter

Application security in your inbox

Important vulnerabilities, actionable guidance and practical advice for your applications. Choose your technologies and follow what matters to your project.

  • A daily digest of new vulnerabilities, critical ones included.
  • Notifications about important updates.
  • Practical advice on application security and monitoring.

Leave empty to receive updates for every technology.

Free to subscribe. Unsubscribe with one click in any email.