CVE-2020-11023: JQuery JQuery

Should you act?

Exploited: patch now if you run it

CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

Yes, if you run JQuery JQuery. CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-01-23, which means there is reliable evidence of exploitation in the wild. US federal agencies must remediate by 2025-02-13; treat that as the outer limit, not the target.
EPSS 84.9%, percentile 99.7: FIRST’s model estimates a 84.9% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 99.7% of all scored CVEs (very high). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
Needs a user to click or open something. Phishing makes that realistic, but it is not wormable.

What it is

In jQuery versions greater than or equal to 1.0.3 and before 3.5.0, passing HTML containing elements from untrusted sources - even after sanitizing it - to one of jQuery's DOM manipulation methods (i.e. .html(), .append(), and others) may execute untrusted code. This problem is patched in jQuery 3.5.0.

CISA’s summary

JQuery contains a persistent cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. When passing maliciously formed, untrusted input enclosed in HTML tags, JQuery's DOM manipulators can execute untrusted code in the context of the user's browser.

Weakness type: CWE-79.

Product: JQuery JQuery · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2020-04-29

Affected and fixed versions

Vendor	Product	Affected versions (per CVE record)
jquery	jQuery	>= 1.0.3, < 3.5.0

Severity scores

Scored by	CVSS	Score	Vector
GitHub_M	3.1	6.9 Medium	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N`

Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
Attack complexity: high (needs special conditions)
Privileges required: none (no login)
User interaction: required (a user must click/open something)
Scope: changed (can affect other components)

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

CISA KEV: added 2025-01-23; federal due date 2025-02-13. Known ransomware use: Unknown.
CISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact partial.
FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 84.89% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 99.7.

Timeline

2020-04-29 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
2025-01-23 — Added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
2025-02-13 — CISA remediation deadline for US federal agencies
2025-10-21 — CVE record last updated

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Should you act?

What it is

CISA’s summary

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

Exploitation and urgency

Timeline

Sources and references

Vendor and project advisories, patches

Vulnerability records

Government

Other references from the CVE record and advisory