CVE-2024-53388: 
JavaScript vulnerability analysis and mitigation

A DOM Clobbering vulnerability was discovered in mavo version 0.3.2, identified as CVE-2024-53388. The vulnerability was reported on March 3, 2025, and allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by supplying a crafted HTML element (NVD, CVE).

The vulnerability exists in Mavo's plugin-loading mechanism which uses document.currentScript to set the base URL for loading dependencies. The implementation is susceptible to DOM Clobbering attacks where document.currentScript lookup can be shadowed by attacker-injected non-script HTML elements through the browser's named DOM access mechanism. This manipulation allows an attacker to replace intended script elements with an array of attacker-controlled scriptless HTML elements, enabling arbitrary script loading from the attacker's controlled domain. The vulnerability has received a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 8.8 (HIGH) with the vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (GitHub POC).

The vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code through DOM Clobbering, potentially leading to cross-site scripting (XSS) in web pages where scriptless attacker-controlled HTML elements are present. Given Mavo's usage in various web applications, this vulnerability poses a significant security risk (GitHub POC).

The recommended mitigation involves adding an additional type check to ensure that document.currentScript references only script elements. The suggested patch includes verifying the tagName property: 'let base = document.currentScript && document.currentScript.tagName.toUpperCase() === 'SCRIPT' ? document.currentScript.src : location' (GitHub POC).