# CVE-2020-36827: Cross-site scripting in n/a

> Attackers can inject malicious scripts via unescaped JSON output in the XAO::Web Perl module, potentially leading to code execution.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Mar 2024
- **Updated:** 28 Mar 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5w28-7mvj-3c7j

## What is CVE-2020-36827?

CVE-2020-36827 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in n/a, published on 24 Mar 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The XAO::Web module before 1.84 for Perl mishandles < and > characters in JSON output during use of json-embed in Web::Action.

Weakness: CWE-791 (Incomplete Filtering of Special Elements)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-36827?


## How do I fix CVE-2020-36827?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-36827 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-36827 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-36827 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-36827 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-36827 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in n/a, published on 24 Mar 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-36827 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36827/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36827/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36827
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36827
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-36827

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36827/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.