📄 Description (English)
TinyMCE is an open source rich text editor. Prior to 5.11.1, 7.9.3, and 8.5.1, there is a stored XSS vulnerability via forged mce:protected comments. Allows attackers to bypass sanitization and inject scripts that execute when content is restored. Impacts users who utilize the protect option. This vulnerability is fixed in 5.11.1, 7.9.3, and 8.5.1.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
TinyMCE versions prior to 5.11.1, 7.9.3, and 8.5.1 contain a stored XSS vulnerability through forged mce:protected comments that bypasses sanitization mechanisms. Attackers can inject malicious scripts that execute when protected content is restored, affecting organizations using TinyMCE's protect option. This vulnerability poses significant risk to Saudi organizations using TinyMCE in content management systems, email platforms, and web applications.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 30, 2026 08:25
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
High impact for Saudi banking sector (SAMA-regulated institutions) using TinyMCE in customer communication platforms and document management. Government entities (NCA oversight) utilizing TinyMCE for internal content management face data integrity risks. Healthcare organizations (MOH) using TinyMCE in patient communication systems risk HIPAA-equivalent compliance violations. Telecom providers (STC, Mobily) using TinyMCE in customer portals face authentication bypass and session hijacking risks. Energy sector (ARAMCO, SEC) using TinyMCE in operational technology interfaces face critical infrastructure risks. Educational institutions and media organizations also at significant risk.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking and Financial Services
Government and Public Administration
Healthcare
Energy and Utilities
Telecommunications
Education
Media and Publishing
E-commerce
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
7.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all TinyMCE installations across your organization (versions 5.x, 7.x, 8.x prior to patched versions)
2. Disable the protect option in TinyMCE configuration if not critical to operations
3. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block mce:protected comment patterns
4. Review audit logs for suspicious mce:protected comment creation or modification
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Upgrade TinyMCE to version 5.11.1, 7.9.3, or 8.5.1 immediately upon release
2. Test patches in non-production environments first
3. Coordinate with application vendors for embedded TinyMCE instances
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (until patch available):
1. Implement strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to prevent inline script execution
2. Enable HTML sanitization at application layer using DOMPurify or similar libraries
3. Restrict access to content editing features to authenticated, authorized users only
4. Implement input validation to reject mce:protected comments from untrusted sources
5. Monitor for XSS payloads in protected comment syntax
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor for HTTP requests containing 'mce:protected' in POST/PUT parameters
2. Alert on script tags or event handlers within protected comment content
3. Track changes to content containing mce:protected markers
4. Monitor browser console for unexpected script execution during content restoration
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع تثبيتات TinyMCE عبر المنظمة (الإصدارات 5.x و 7.x و 8.x السابقة للإصدارات المصححة)
2. تعطيل خيار الحماية في إعدادات TinyMCE إذا لم يكن حرجاً للعمليات
3. تطبيق قواعد جدار حماية تطبيقات الويب (WAF) للكشف عن أنماط تعليقات mce:protected وحجبها
4. مراجعة سجلات التدقيق للكشف عن إنشاء أو تعديل تعليقات mce:protected المريبة
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. ترقية TinyMCE إلى الإصدار 5.11.1 أو 7.9.3 أو 8.5.1 فوراً عند الإصدار
2. اختبار التصحيحات في بيئات غير الإنتاج أولاً
3. التنسيق مع بائعي التطبيقات لحالات TinyMCE المدمجة
الضوابط البديلة (حتى توفر التصحيح):
1. تطبيق رؤوس سياسة أمان المحتوى (CSP) صارمة لمنع تنفيذ البرامج النصية المضمنة
2. تفعيل تطهير HTML على مستوى التطبيق باستخدام مكتبات مثل DOMPurify
3. تقييد الوصول إلى ميزات تحرير المحتوى للمستخدمين المصرح لهم فقط
4. تطبيق التحقق من الإدخال لرفض تعليقات mce:protected من مصادر غير موثوقة
5. مراقبة حمولات XSS في بناء جملة التعليقات المحمية
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة طلبات HTTP التي تحتوي على 'mce:protected' في معاملات POST/PUT
2. التنبيه على علامات البرامج النصية أو معالجات الأحداث داخل محتوى التعليقات المحمية
3. تتبع التغييرات على المحتوى الذي يحتوي على علامات mce:protected
4. مراقبة وحدة تحكم المتصفح للكشف عن تنفيذ برامج نصية غير متوقعة أثناء استعادة المحتوى
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
5.2.1 - Input validation and output encoding controls
5.2.2 - Protection against injection attacks
5.3.1 - Web application security controls
5.3.2 - Content security policy implementation
🔵 SAMA CSF
ID.BE-3 - Organizational resilience
PR.DS-1 - Data security and protection
PR.IP-1 - Security policy and processes
DE.CM-1 - Detection and analysis
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.14.2.1 - Secure development policy
A.14.2.5 - Secure development environment
A.14.3.1 - Separation of development, test and production environments
A.13.1.3 - Segregation of networks
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
6.5.1 - Injection flaws prevention
6.5.7 - Cross-site scripting (XSS) prevention
6.6 - Security testing and assessment
🔗 References & Sources 3
🔗
https://github.com/tinymce/tinymce/security/advisories/GHSA-v98h-vmpc-fpqv
security-advisories@github.com
Vendor Advisory
🔗
https://www.tiny.cloud/docs/tinymce/7/7.9.3-release-notes/#overview
security-advisories@github.com
Release Notes
🔗
https://www.tiny.cloud/docs/tinymce/8/8.5.1-release-notes/#overview
security-advisories@github.com
Release Notes
📦 Affected Products / CPE 3 entries
tiny:tinymce
tiny:tinymce
tiny:tinymce