This update fixes a number of issues reported since the last release and makes some changes to the way event attributes - eg: onclick, onload etc. - are handled. In addition, an important security update is included to prevent potential cross-site scripting attacks.
Event Attribute Changes
Event attributes are able to execute javascript and so should only be available to trusted users. In this update and going forward, event attributes are now disabled by default and will be removed from content created or edited with JCE. Event Attributes can be enabled with the Allow Event Attributes option in Editor Profiles -> Editor Parameters -> Advanced, or with the Allow Javascript option in the same tab. If the Allow Javascript option is enabled, Allow Event Attributes will automatically be enabled. A step-by-step guide for this is available here
The Rollover effect provided by the Image Manager uses event attributes, and so the Allow Event Attributes will now need to be enabled to use this feature. Existing rollover effects will be protected if the option is not enabled.
A Security Update
An article was recently published which demonstrated that many popular WYSIWYG editors were and are vulnerable to a cross-site scripting attack when pasting content copied from a malicious site, by taking advantage of event attributes in the copied HTML. As JCE uses a version of the Tinymce editor mentioned in the article, it too was vulnerable to this potential exploit. This update fixes the issue by removing all event attributes from pasted content copied from external sources, unless explicitely allowed in the Clipboard parameters.
In addition to this, better processing of HTML comments and media elements, and a fix in the Visual Characters feature , remove other potential instances where similar exploits could be executed by a user.
It should be noted that these issues require the editor to be active, either by a malicious user creating or editing content, or by a user inadvertantly pasting in content from a malicious website. Nevertheless, all users are advised to update to JCE 2.8.15 as soon as possible.
JCE Pro 2.8 includes a number of great new features and enhancements and is available for download or to update via the Joomla Updater.
A changelog for this release is available to view here
Thank you to everyone who submitted bug reports and tested development versions. If you find any more issues please submit them on the forum or on github.
Download and Installation
JCE Pro is available for download with a JCE Pro Subscription.
If you already have a subscription, please make sure you set your key before updating
Instructions for installing and updating JCE for each Joomla version are available here