Escape HTML in list views [Updated in Security Center 1.3 and 1.5]

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 1 minute to read
  • Use the glide.ui.escape_html_list_field property to force HTML escapes for HTML fields in a list view.

    Set glide.ui.escape_html_list_field to true to prevent HTML from being rendered in HTML fields in list view. Leaving HTML sanitization inactive platform wide (via system property) or by field (via a schema attribute), may lead to XSS style attacks. XSS attacks may allow a low privileged user to hijack the session of a high privileged user or interfere in standard web application behaviors, including redirects or defacement.

    Warning:
    This is a safe harbor property, meaning the value can't be altered once it's changed. It’s non-revertible.

    More information

    Attribute Description
    Property name glide.ui.escape_html_list_field
    Configuration type System Properties (/sys_properties_list.do)
    Category Validation, sanitization, and encoding
    Purpose To help prevent application against cross-site scripting attacks
    Recommended value true
    Default value true
    Security risk rating 3.1
    Functional impact This remediation enforces HTML encoding to occur on the UI at the HTML parser level and thus renders back encoded results to the user. It can have a functionality impact based on the instance user interaction with the resulted data.
    Security risk (High) Input validation must occur on the application to defend against cross-site scripting attacks. These attacks enable foreign scripts to execute on user sessions in the logged in browser's context. Attackers can use it to steal session information and sensitive data.
    References

    High Security Settings

    To learn more about adding or creating a system property, see Add a system property.