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CVE Record

CVE-2021-46888: An issue was discovered in hledger before 1.23.

An issue was discovered in hledger before 1.23. A Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in toBloodhoundJson that allows an attacker to execute JavaScript by encoding user-controlled values in a payload with base64 and parsing them with the atob function.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

hledger before 1.23 had a stored cross-site scripting issue. Malicious values placed into data used by a generated report could later run JavaScript in a viewer's browser. Business impact depends on whether hledger output is produced from untrusted or shared data and viewed in browsers.

Executive priority

Treat as a targeted hygiene fix unless hledger reports are shared broadly or built from untrusted data. Prioritize upgrade in teams handling financial data, shared reports, or browser-rendered outputs from multiple contributors.

Technical view

CVE-2021-46888 is a stored XSS in hledger's toBloodhoundJson before version 1.23. The CVE states attacker-controlled values could be base64-encoded and parsed with atob, enabling JavaScript execution. The source bundle does not provide CVSS, CWE, or detailed affected package metadata.

Likely exposure

Organizations using hledger versions before 1.23 may be exposed. Highest concern is where generated output includes user-controlled ledger values and is opened by other users in a browser. Evidence about affected packaging and deployment modes is incomplete in the provided sources.

Exploitation context

The CVE is not listed as KEV, and the provided sources do not state active exploitation in the wild. Public GitHub issue, pull request, release, and video references indicate public disclosure and fix discussion, but not confirmed operational exploitation.

Researcher notes

The record is sparse: no CVSS, CWE, CPEs, or explicit exploitation statement are provided. Analysis should stay anchored to hledger before 1.23, the toBloodhoundJson stored XSS, and the referenced GitHub issue, pull request, and release.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory hledger use and identify versions before 1.23.
  • Upgrade hledger to version 1.23 or later where applicable.
  • Review vendor release notes and PR #1663 for exact fix context.
  • Avoid processing untrusted ledger data until upgraded or vendor guidance is applied.
  • Limit access to generated browser-viewed output where untrusted data may appear.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm deployed hledger versions across workstations, servers, and automation.
  • Check whether hledger output is generated from shared or untrusted input.
  • Verify upgrade completion by recording installed version 1.23 or later.
  • Review report-generation workflows that call or depend on toBloodhoundJson.
  • Confirm no compensating controls rely on undocumented assumptions.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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