Mermaid: Improper sanitization of configuration leads to CSS injection
Date: 2026-05
Affected: npm/mermaid, npm/mermaid
Attack vector: data-exfiltration
Category: vulnerability-disclosure
Severity: Medium
CVE: CVE-2026-41149
CVE-2026-41159
CWE: CWE-94

### Impact Mermaid's default configuration allows injecting CSS that applies outside of the Mermaid diagram via the `fontFamily`, `themeCSS`, and `altFontFamily` configuration options. Live demo: [mermaid.live](https://mermaid.live/edit#pako:eNpNjktLxDAUhf9KvFBR6JS-60QQfODKlUvJ5k6TtsEmKTHFGUP-u-mI6Nmdy3fOPR56wwVQSBIvtXSUeAaD0e4ZlZxPDChhcLxFfwiEauOuLq_9Afv30ZpVczpaITS5kGox1qF2gfSeBwYhJAnThAyz-ewntI68vG5-0z3Z7e7IA9OQwmglB-rsKlJQwircLPgNZeAmocTPAi4GXGfHgOkQYwvqN2PUbzJuGSegA84f0a0LRyeeJI4W_xChubCPcbQD2pwbgHo4Aq2aKmvbqq3zoiu7pizqFE6RybN9VFfFY1HWXRVS-Dr_zLObrt7_V_gGGXZlGg) Example code: ``` %%{init: {"fontFamily": "x;a{b} :not(&){background:green !important} c{d}"}}%% flowchart LR A --> B ``` The injected CSS exploits stylis's `&` (scope reference) handling. `:not(&)` escapes the `#mermaid-xxx` automatic scoping, applying styles to all page elements. Global at-rules (`@font-face`, `@keyframes`, `@counter-style`) are also injectable as stylis hoists them to top level. This allows page defacement and DOM attribute exfiltration via CSS `:has()` selectors. ### Patches - [v11.15.0](https://github.com/mermaid-js/mermaid/releases/tag/mermaid%4011.15.0) (see [64769738d5b59211e1decb471ffbaca8afec51aa](https://github.com/mermaid-js/mermaid/commit/64769738d5b59211e1decb471ffbaca8afec51aa)) - [v10.9.6](https://github.com/mermaid-js/mermaid/releases/tag/v10.9.6) (see [a9d9f0d8eb790349121508688cd338253fd80d76](https://github.com/mermaid-js/mermaid/commit/a9d9f0d8eb790349121508688cd33


Mitigations:

Architectural layers (MAESTRO):