Hugo: XSS via text/html content files

**Commit:** [e41a06447d](https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/commit/e41a06447d) — _Disallow HTML content by default_ **Affected versions:** all Hugo versions prior to v0.162.0. **Fixed in:** v0.162.0. **Severity:** Low to Medium, depending on threat model. Not an issue if you fully trust every file under `/content` and every content adapter you load. **Description.** Hugo accepts content files in several markup formats. Files mapped to the `text/html` media type (typically `.html` files under `/content`, or pages produced by a content adapter that sets `content.mediaType = "text/html"`) had their body emitted verbatim into the rendered page. A site that ingests HTML content from an untrusted source — for example, a CMS-backed editor, a content adapter pulling from an external API, or an automated import pipeline — could therefore be served stored cross-site scripting. **Mitigation.** v0.162.0 introduces a `security.allowContent` whitelist with `text/html` denied by default. Sites that intentionally author HTML content can opt back in: ```toml [security] allowContent = ['.*'] ``` This only affects pages whose source file (or content adapter output) declares an HTML media type; Markdown, AsciiDoc, Org, Pandoc and reStructuredText content is unaffected.

Source published

16 Jun 2026 19:22:14 UTC

Source modified

7 Jul 2026 20:41:27 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:19:41 UTC

Source terms

GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

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:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N

Publisher rating · MODERATE