CVE-2024-5205Discovered Published
Videojs HTML5 shortcode XSS
View patch bundle on GitHubFull published report
The reviewed summary below describes the scope of the fixture testing.
Videojs HTML5 shortcode XSS (CVE-2024-5205)
cve.now entry. Product: Videojs HTML5 Player
WordPress plugin (lab: gabriel-vidjs-app).
Eden terminates the HTTP connection to the affected product, evaluates a declarative policy and — in tier 2 — a separately compiled native Rust module under signed module authority, before any byte reaches the application. It does not patch the affected component; the vendor's fixed release remains the durable repair.
Status: Remediated (tier 1 + tier 2), live-proven 2026-11-11T16:47:16Z on the
installed eden-product-release:1.103.0 lab container.
The vulnerability
The Videojs shortcode renders a query-supplied shortcode without escaping,
persisting script tags. The fixture (make_vidjs) reproduces the shape: a
request whose ?shortcode=<script> carries a script tag records a stored-XSS
mark.
The Eden patch
Tier 1 — declarative policy (blunt, fail-closed): deny every request under
/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php, ordinary shortcode lookups included — false
positives measured below.
Tier 2 — native Rust module gabriel_vidjs_v1 (surgical): refuses
requests whose target carries a script-opening tag (<script); ordinary
shortcode lookups (?shortcode=vidjs) pass unchanged.
Measured comparison (fixtures9, run 2026-11-11)
| Probe | Baseline | Tier 1 | Tier 2 (module) | Backend effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
benign shortcode lookup ?shortcode=vidjs | 200 | 403 (false positive) | 200 | none |
attack: stored XSS ?shortcode=<script> | 200 (xss_stored recorded) | 403 | 403 | blocked at tier 2 |
Performance trace (Eden telemetry, live 2026-11-11)
Measured with Eden's built-in request telemetry (gateway.request.baseline
spans, read back through /api/v1/analytics/telemetry?signal=traces), not
client wall-clock. Latency Eden introduces per remediation arm for this case:
| Arm | n | mean | p50 | p95 | min–max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — declarative policy, blocked request (403) | 15 | 28 µs | 22 µs | 52 µs | 15 µs–52 µs |
| Tier 2 — native module, benign passes through (200) | 23 | 327 µs | 289 µs | 525 µs | 282 µs–645 µs |
| Tier 2 — native module, attack refused (403) | 14 | 135 µs | 127 µs | 205 µs | 108 µs–205 µs |
Eden-added latency for the tier-2 remediation: benign requests complete in 327 µs mean (p50 289 µs, p95 525 µs) in-product, module evaluation included. Honest scope: lab fixtures on one host, fresh connection per measured request, warm requests only; module reactivated shards 2/2 with a fresh signed statement per measurement; spans carry the full authority lineage (module SHA-256, operation, publication). Not the EDEN-3640 performance qualification contract.
Tested against: eden-product-release:1.103.0-single (image sha256:809293e1f0b525ac…, build target
eden_service_single, tooling revision 81a0724a…). Raw data:
module2/telemetry-ab/vidjs-telemetry.json and module2/tier1-ab/vidjs-tier1.json.
Authority lifecycle and negatives
Import 201, activation: explicit_required; publisher enroll_key, host
inventory + approve, reader inspect refused 403; tampered-statement admit
400; invalid-signature admit 403; admit prepared (not serving), activate
→ receipt serving_now, applied shards 2/2. Revoke → the identical attack
gets 503 (fail-closed); re-approve + re-activate → 403 again. All recorded
in the evidence JSON.
Honest scope
The fixture reproduces the unescaped-shortcode shape, not the full plugin
surface. Bypass variants (mixed case, event handlers, alternate routes) are
not bypass-tested; the rule is a lab-grade partial. Module binary SHA-256
90463f57…, source modules/gabriel_vidjs_v1.rs.
Cost record
Run window 16:47:16Z → 16:47:25Z (per-CVE ledger, marginal session cost).
Evidence appendix
- Fixture:
gabriel-2026-11-11/fixtures9.py(make_vidjs, port 18303) - Evidence:
gabriel-2026-11-11/module2/evidence/vidjs-module.json - Module source:
docs/case-studies/modules/gabriel_vidjs_v1.rs
The vulnerability
The Videojs shortcode renders a query-supplied shortcode without escaping,
persisting script tags. The fixture (make_vidjs) reproduces the shape: a
request whose ?shortcode=<script> carries a script tag records a stored-XSS
mark.
The Eden patch
Tier 1 — declarative policy (blunt, fail-closed): deny every request under
/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php, ordinary shortcode lookups included — false
positives measured below.
Tier 2 — native Rust module gabriel_vidjs_v1 (surgical): refuses
requests whose target carries a script-opening tag (<script); ordinary
shortcode lookups (?shortcode=vidjs) pass unchanged.
Measured comparison (fixtures9, run 2026-11-11)
| Probe | Baseline | Tier 1 | Tier 2 (module) | Backend effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
benign shortcode lookup ?shortcode=vidjs | 200 | 403 (false positive) | 200 | none |
attack: stored XSS ?shortcode=<script> | 200 (xss_stored recorded) | 403 | 403 | blocked at tier 2 |
Performance trace (Eden telemetry, live 2026-11-11)
Measured with Eden's built-in request telemetry (gateway.request.baseline
spans, read back through /api/v1/analytics/telemetry?signal=traces), not
client wall-clock. Latency Eden introduces per remediation arm for this case:
| Arm | n | mean | p50 | p95 | min–max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — declarative policy, blocked request (403) | 15 | 28 µs | 22 µs | 52 µs | 15 µs–52 µs |
| Tier 2 — native module, benign passes through (200) | 23 | 327 µs | 289 µs | 525 µs | 282 µs–645 µs |
| Tier 2 — native module, attack refused (403) | 14 | 135 µs | 127 µs | 205 µs | 108 µs–205 µs |
Authority lifecycle and negatives
Import 201, activation: explicit_required; publisher enroll_key, host
inventory + approve, reader inspect refused 403; tampered-statement admit
400; invalid-signature admit 403; admit prepared (not serving), activate
→ receipt serving_now, applied shards 2/2. Revoke → the identical attack
gets 503 (fail-closed); re-approve + re-activate → 403 again. All recorded
in the evidence JSON.
Honest scope
The fixture reproduces the unescaped-shortcode shape, not the full plugin
surface. Bypass variants (mixed case, event handlers, alternate routes) are
not bypass-tested; the rule is a lab-grade partial. Module binary SHA-256
90463f57…, source modules/gabriel_vidjs_v1.rs.
Cost record
Run window 16:47:16Z → 16:47:25Z (per-CVE ledger, marginal session cost).