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CVE-2016-5394 Apache Sling

Affected softwareApache Sling
Severity6.1 Medium CVSS 3.1 2 scores
Fixed in1.0.12
WeaknessCross-site scripting (CWE-79)
Published19 Jul 2017
Updated17 Jun 2026

Description

In the XSS Protection API module before 1.0.12 in Apache Sling, the encoding done by the XSSAPI.encodeForJSString() method is not restrictive enough and for some input patterns allows script tags to pass through unencoded, leading to potential XSS vulnerabilities.

Exploitation status

No public exploit

No exploit has been reported in the sources we check. The 1 repository below are public GitHub repositories with fewer than 5 stars.

  • CISA KEV not listed
  • VulnCheck KEV not listed
  • CISA Vulnrichment no assessment published
  • Indexed PoC 1 indexed, none at 5+ stars
  • EPSS 2.6% chance in 30 days

1 of these are GitHub repositories with fewer than 5 stars. They are listed for reference and don't count toward the exploitation status above.

IndexArtifactStarsFirst seen
GitHub PoC apache/sling with CVE-2016-5394 2024-05-31

Waratek protection

No exploit published

Within Waratek scope. In the sources we check, nobody has published exploit code for this CVE or reported it being exploited.

A public code fix exists: apache/sling-org-apache-sling-xss de32b14.

  • Protection none
  • Action unverified
  • Review automated Upstream data
  • Record active
Decided by Medium or Low severity, no CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, no PoC clearing the evidence bar, no CISA verdict, no Oracle advisory
Finding This CVE is MEDIUM severity, is not listed in CISA KEV or VulnCheck KEV, has no public exploit or PoC in any indexed source, carries no CISA Vulnrichment finding of a demonstrated exploit, and is not part of an Oracle Critical Patch Update. None of the signals that would put it in front of an engineer is present, and the volume of CVEs below that bar is too great to take one at a time, so no rule is written for it. This is a decision about what we act on, not a finding that the CVE is harmless — a patch may well be derivable, and a low-severity defect can still be one link in a longer chain.

CVSS

6.1 MEDIUM v3.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N 2 metrics

We show the highest score from the newest CVSS version. Scores from different versions can't be compared, and the first score listed is sometimes a 0.0 placeholder.

VersionScoreBandVectorAssignerType
CVSS 3.1 6.1 MEDIUM CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N NVD Primary published
CVSS 2.0 4.3 none AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N NVD Primary

Affected software and releases

Maven packages

Affected and fixed versions, from OSV.dev
PackageIntroducedFixedLast affected
org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss 0 1.0.12 unbounded
org.apache.sling:org.apache.sling.xss.compat 0 1.1.0 unbounded

Products and versions

3 products, 3 version entries
SourceVendorProductSchemeAffected versions
nvd apache sling generic < 1.0.12
osv org.apache.sling org.apache.sling.xss generic < 1.0.12
osv org.apache.sling org.apache.sling.xss.compat generic < 1.1.0

References

URLTags
https://github.com/apache/sling-org-apache-sling-xss/commit/de32b144ad2be3367559f6184d560db42a220529 WEB
https://github.com/jensdietrich/xshady-release/tree/main/CVE-2016-5394 WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/332166037a54b97cf41e2b616aaed38439de94b19b204841478e4525@%3Cdev.sling.apache.org%3E WEB
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/99870 WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/332166037a54b97cf41e2b616aaed38439de94b19b204841478e4525%40%3Cdev.sling.apache.org%3E

Timeline

Published2017-07-19By the CVE Program.
NVD record modified2026-06-17NVD's own last-modified date for this record.