What is CVE-2020-11023?

CVE-2020-11023 is JQuery Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerability. The supplied enrichment data classifies it as Cross-site Scripting mapped to CWE-79 Cross-site Scripting.

Which versions are affected?

Affected product and version evidence is listed in the product table above. Current public advisories should be checked for exact version scope before patch targeting is finalized.

Is there active exploitation?

Yes: CISA KEV signal present. If exploitation is not confirmed from current sources, teams should document that status and continue monitoring KEV, vendor, and telemetry updates.

Is there a public exploit?

1 public PoC repositories reported; 0 marked weaponized in current dataset. Public exploit or PoC availability should raise triage priority, especially for exposed or business-critical systems.

How can defenders detect it?

Start with web/proxy/WAF logs, application logs, network IDS/IPS where available. Look for vulnerability-class behavior, product errors, suspicious authentication events, exploit probes, and abnormal process activity based only on evidence that applies to the affected product.

How should teams prioritize it?

Prioritize CVE-2020-11023 using CVSS 6.1, EPSS 84%, KEV status, public PoC status, and asset exposure. Internet-facing, privileged, or business-critical deployments should be handled first.

Are workarounds available?

The supplied mitigation guidance says to apply vendor patches and restrict external exposure until fixed. Fixed-version evidence is listed in the mitigation section above.

Which threat actors are linked publicly?

No public threat actor linkage is confirmed from current sources. Do not attribute exploitation to a threat actor unless the source evidence explicitly supports that linkage.

What should be done in the next 24 hours?

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations. Treat as emergency remediation because CISA KEV status is present. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class. Open remediation tickets with affected assets, owners, evidence status, and detection coverage so decisions are traceable.

CISA KEVmediumCross-site Scriptingpublic exploit

CVE-2020-11023

CVE-2020-11023 — JQuery Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerability

Q: Is it in CISA KEV?

Yes. The supplied enrichment data lists CVE-2020-11023 in CISA KEV with required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.. KEV status should be monitored because it can change after initial disclosure or after exploitation becomes publicly confirmed.

In jQuery versions greater than or equal to 1.0.3 and before 3.5.0, passing HTML containing <option> elements from untrusted sources - even after sanitizing it - to one of jQuery's DOM manipulation methods (i.e. .html(), .append(), and others) may execute untrusted code. This problem is patched in jQuery 3.5.0.

Published Apr 29, 2020Updated Jun 17, 2026Sources: NVD, CISA, FIRST EPSS

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.

Exploitation

Confirmed

CISA KEV, listed Jan 23, 2025

EPSS

84%

ahead of 99.7% of scored CVEs

Affects

jquery

CVSS base

6.1

medium · 3 sources

CISA SSVC assessment

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses · SSVC 2.0.3. A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

CISA

Exploitation

Active

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

can an attacker script all four kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Partial

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

The vendor's own words where we have them.

Upgrade jquery to a fixed release. Apply vendor patches per advisory and restrict external exposure of the affected component until patched.

CISA required action

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Federal deadline Feb 13, 2025 — passed 577 days ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record's own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found.

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations.
Treat as emergency remediation because CISA KEV status is present.
Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and version as the advisories word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status
jquery	jquery	—	Vulnerable

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Availability

None

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Scope

Changed

Attack Complexity

Low

Attack Vector

Network

Privileges Req

None

User Interaction

Required

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Source
6.9	CVSS 3.1	medium	1.6	4.7	GitHub (CNA)
6.1	CVSS 3.1	medium	2.8	2.7	NVD
4.3	CVSS 2.0	medium	8.6	2.9	NVD

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N

Weakness & attack patterns

CWE-79Cross-site Scripting

Inferred from the weakness class — not observed against this CVE.

CAPEC-63 · Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)CAPEC-591 · Reflected XSS

CISA KEV details

CISA lists a CVE here once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

CISAThat month →

Listed

Jan 23, 2025

Federal deadline

Feb 13, 2025

passed 577 days ago

Ransomware use

Unknown

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a date to argue against.

Public exploit

Capability, not use: code existing is a different claim from anyone running it.

Exploit entries

Exploit-DB and CTI exploit indexes

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not rules we have tested.

Prioritize edge telemetry for network-reachable jquery.
Monitor for scanner or exploit-pattern traffic after 1 public PoC repositories were reported.

web/proxy/WAF logsapplication logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first — with the readings a source repeats on a schedule counted underneath rather than listed.

2026
Added · CVSS 3.1 6.1 (AV:N)
Jun 17, 2026 · NVD
2025
Added to CISA KEV catalog
Jan 23, 2025 · CISA
2020
Initial · CVE published
Apr 29, 2020 · NVD

References

68 on the record

lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00067.html
Broken Link
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00085.html
Broken Link
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-11/msg00039.html
Broken Link, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
packetstormsecurity.com/files/162160/jQuery-1.0.3-Cross-Site-Scripting.html
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
blog.jquery.com/2020/04/10/jquery-3-5-0-released
Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
github.com/jquery/jquery/security/advisories/GHSA-jpcq-cgw6-v4j6
Third Party Advisory, Vendor Advisory
jquery.com/upgrade-guide/3.5/
Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r0483ba0072783c2e1bfea613984bfb3c86e73ba8879d780dc1cc7d36%40%3Cissues.flink.apache.org%3E
Issue Tracking, Mailing List

Elsewhere on this site

jqueryevery CVE for this vendor
January 2025what else CISA listed
Cross-site Scriptingsame class
CWE-79other pages naming this weakness

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record1

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2020-11023 is JQuery Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerability, a medium vulnerability affecting jquery from jquery. The current evidence lists it in CISA KEV, and the exploit status is: Yes: CISA KEV signal present. Public exploit evidence is: 1 public PoC repositories reported; 0 marked weaponized in current dataset. The affected-version evidence is listed in the key facts and affected products tables. Defenders should first verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run those versions, then apply vendor patches or mitigations, restrict reachable attack surface, and preserve logs for detection review. CVSS 6.1 describes technical severity, while EPSS 84% helps estimate near-term exploit likelihood; neither replaces asset context. Unknown fields should remain explicit in tickets, and threat actor, IOC, victimology, or payload claims should not be added unless a cited source supports them. Monitor CISA KEV, vendor advisories, NVD changes, public PoC repositories, and internal telemetry for update triggers.