Astro: Cross-site scripting via unescaped transition:* directive values on hydrated islands

### Summary When a `transition:persist`, `transition:scope`, or `transition:persist-props` directive is applied to a client-hydrated (`client:*`) component, Astro copied the directive value onto the rendered `<astro-island>` element **without HTML-escaping it**. If a developer reflects attacker-controlled input into one of these directives, an attacker can break out of the attribute and inject arbitrary HTML/JavaScript into the server-rendered output, resulting in reflected cross-site scripting (XSS). ### Severity Although a generic reflected XSS scores in the Medium range, exploitation here requires the application developer to have written a non-idiomatic pattern — passing untrusted, request-derived input directly into a transition directive. Astro applications that do not route untrusted input into these directives are unaffected. This mitigating precondition places the real-world severity at Low. ### Details In `generateHydrateScript()` (`packages/astro/src/runtime/server/hydration.ts`), every island property is HTML-escaped before serialization — the `attrs`, `props`, and `opts` assignments all pass through `escapeHTML()`. The transition directives, however, were copied verbatim: ```ts transitionDirectivesToCopyOnIsland.forEach((name) => { if (typeof props[name] !== 'undefined') { island.props[name] = props[name]; // not escaped } }); ``` The `<astro-island>` element is serialized via `renderElement('astro-island', island, false)` with `shouldEscape=false`, and `toAttributeString()` returns the value unchanged in that mode. As a result there is no downstream re-escaping, and the raw directive value reaches the HTML response. This is the same output sink previously addressed for slot names in GHSA-8hv8-536x-4wqp. The affected directives are: - `data-astro-transition-scope` (`transition:scope`) - `data-astro-transition-persist` (`transition:persist`) - `data-astro-transition-persist-props` (`transition:persist-props`) Note that `transition:persist` is typed `boolean | string`, so passing a string value is a supported use of the API. ### Proof of Concept A component that reflects a query parameter into a transition directive: ```astro --- const persist = Astro.url.searchParams.get('persist') ?? 'default'; --- <Island client:load transition:persist={persist} /> ``` Request: ``` https://example.com/?persist="><img src=x onerror=alert(document.domain)> ``` Rendered output (before the fix): ```html <astro-island … data-astro-transition-persist=""><img src=x onerror=alert(document.domain)>></astro-island> ``` The `"` closes the attribute and the injected `<img onerror=…>` executes in the victim's browser. ### Impact Reflected XSS. An attacker who can induce a victim to visit a crafted URL can execute arbitrary script in the victim's session on the origin, subject to the requirement that the target application reflects untrusted input into one of the affected transition directives. ### Affected Versions `astro >= 3.10.0, < 7.0.4` (introduced in 3.10.0, PR #7861). ### Patched Versions `astro >= 7.0.4`. Fixed in PR #17212 by HTML-escaping transition directive values before they are rendered onto the island element. ### Workarounds Do not pass untrusted or request-derived input into `transition:persist`, `transition:scope`, or `transition:persist-props`. If such input is required, HTML-escape or strictly validate it before passing it to the directive. Upgrading to `[email protected]` or later removes the need for manual mitigation. ### Credits Reported by @jlgore.

Source published

20 Jul 2026 23:21:02 UTC

Source modified

12 Aug 2026 20:45:07 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:17:17 UTC

Source terms

GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS_V4 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N

Publisher rating · LOW