CVE-2026-28338
When PMD analyzes untrusted source code containing crafted string literals, the generated HTML report contains executable JavaScript that runs when opened in a browser.
Does this matter?
Lower severity and a low EPSS score (0.34%). Track it; it rarely justifies an emergency change on its own.
Description
PMD is an extensible multilanguage static code analyzer. Prior to version 7.22.0, PMD's `vbhtml` and `yahtml` report formats insert rule violation messages into HTML output without escaping. When PMD analyzes untrusted source code containing crafted string literals, the generated HTML report contains executable JavaScript that runs when opened in a browser. Practical impact is limited because `vbhtml` and `yahtml` are legacy formats rarely used in practice. The default `html` format is properly escaped and not affected. Version 7.22.0 contains a fix for the issue.
- CVSS 3.1
- 6.1 MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
- EPSS
- 0.34% probability · 28th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-79
- Affected
- pmd project/pmd
- Source
- security-advisories@github.com
EPSS 0.3% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- https://github.com/pmd/pmd/commit/c140c0e1de5853a08efb84c9f91dfeb015882442Patch
- https://github.com/pmd/pmd/pull/6475Issue Tracking, Patch
- https://github.com/pmd/pmd/security/advisories/GHSA-8rr6-2qw5-pc7rExploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.