github / github/codeql

General issue: CWE-116 not reported for unescaped XML output in JavaScript/TypeScript

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question
Dominant language
CodeQL
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Description

**Description**
CodeQL security scan did not recognise the CWE-116 (Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output) in a Sitemap.xml.ts file when unescaped values are embedded into XML output.

**Example**
A sitemap is generated dynamically by interpolating application-derived values
into XML elements:

```ts
function generateSitemap(entries: string[]) {
return `

${entries.map(path => `

${BASE_URL}/${path}

`).join("")}
`;
}
```
Values here are embedded directly into XML elements without escaping.

**Question**
I would like to understand whether this pattern is currently not covered by the JavaScript/TypeScript analysis, or whether the scanning logic intentionally determines that this does not constitute a CWE-116 weakness when generating XML output such as a sitemap.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by reproducing the reported CodeQL result against the Sitemap.xml.ts example and then inspect the JavaScript/TypeScript analysis coverage for XML output. Done means determining whether unescaped XML interpolation is intentionally excluded or should be reported as CWE-116, with the resulting behavior or rationale clearly documented.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript, typescript
Domain
security
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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