CVE-2026-28338
PMD Designer has Stored XSS in VBHTMLRenderer and YAHTMLRenderer via unescaped violation messages
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.
INFO
Published Date :
Feb. 27, 2026, 9:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
Feb. 27, 2026, 9:16 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-28338
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update PMD to version 7.22.0 or later.
- Avoid using legacy 'vbhtml' and 'yahtml' report formats.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-28338.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/pmd/pmd/commit/c140c0e1de5853a08efb84c9f91dfeb015882442 | |
| https://github.com/pmd/pmd/pull/6475 | |
| https://github.com/pmd/pmd/security/advisories/GHSA-8rr6-2qw5-pc7r |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-28338 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-28338
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-28338 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-28338 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Feb. 27, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added 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. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N Added CWE CWE-79 Added Reference https://github.com/pmd/pmd/commit/c140c0e1de5853a08efb84c9f91dfeb015882442 Added Reference https://github.com/pmd/pmd/pull/6475 Added Reference https://github.com/pmd/pmd/security/advisories/GHSA-8rr6-2qw5-pc7r