CVE-2023-28631: Comrak Comrak AST Node Data Is Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-5r3x-p7xx-x6q5
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CVSS 5.3
CWE-755
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-28631 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) comrak ast node data is vulnerability (CWE-755: Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions) affecting Comrak libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves comrak ast node data is not validated (ghsl-2023-049). Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.17.0.

CVE-2023-28631 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-28631
GHSA Identifier GHSA-5r3x-p7xx-x6q5
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-755: Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions
Affected Product Comrak
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability Low (A:L)

How to Fix CVE-2023-28631

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Comrak dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

comrak fixed: 0.17.0 
Upgrade comrak to 0.17.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for comrak

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-28631, inspect your project dependencies for Comrak:

inspect dependencies for comrak

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Comrak in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.17.0), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-755: Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions, where the product does not handle or incorrectly handles an exceptional condition. In Comrak, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact A Comrak AST can be constructed manually by a program instead of parsing a Markdown document with `parse_document`. This AST can then be converted to HTML via `html::format_document_with_plugins`. However, the HTML formatting code assumes that the AST is well-formed. For example, many AST notes contain `[u8]` fields which the formatting code assumes is valid UTF-8 data. Several bugs can be triggered if this is not the case. ### Patches 0.17.0 contains adjustments to the AST, storing strings instead of unvalidated byte arrays. ### Workarounds * Validate UTF-8 correctness of all data when assigning to `&[u8]` and `Vec<u8>` fields in the AST. ### References n/a

CVE-2023-28631 Affected Comrak Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.17.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
comrak
 crates.io
< 0.17.0
0.17.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak/security/advisories/GHSA-5r3x-p7xx-x6q5
NVD — CVE-2023-28631 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-28631
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak/commit/9ff5f8df0ac951f5742d22a72c39b89a15f56639
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak
Comrak Release RELEASE
https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak/releases/tag/0.17.0
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OUYME2VA555X6567H7ORIJQFN4BVGT6N
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PTWZWCT7KCX2KTXTLPUYZ3EHOONG4X46
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/VQ3UBC7LE4VPCMZBTADIBL353CH7CPVV

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-28631?
CVE-2023-28631 is a security vulnerability in Comrak involving Comrak AST node data is not validated (GHSL-2023-049) under CWE-755: Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions.
Which Comrak versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.17.0 across affected packages: comrak.
What version fixes CVE-2023-28631?
Upgrading to 0.17.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is comrak affected?
Yes, comrak is affected in releases prior to 0.17.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.17.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-28631?
CVE-2023-28631 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-28631?
CVE-2023-28631 is classified under CWE-755: Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions (The product does not handle or incorrectly handles an exceptional condition.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2023-28631?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for comrak'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-5r3x-p7xx-x6q5",
  "modified" : "2023-03-28T23:08:47Z",
  "published" : "2023-03-28T14:45:28Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-28631" ],
  "summary" : "Comrak AST node data is not validated (GHSL-2023-049)",
  "details" : "### Impact\nA Comrak AST can be constructed manually by a program instead of parsing a Markdown document with `parse_document`. This AST can then be converted to HTML via `html::format_document_with_plugins`. However, the HTML formatting code assumes that the AST is well-formed. For example, many AST notes contain `[u8]` fields which the formatting code assumes is valid UTF-8 data. Several bugs can be triggered if this is not the case.\n\n### Patches\n\n0.17.0 contains adjustments to the AST, storing strings instead of unvalidated byte arrays.\n\n### Workarounds\n\n* Validate UTF-8 correctness of all data when assigning to `&[u8]` and `Vec<u8>` fields in the AST.\n\n### References\nn/a",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "comrak"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.17.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak/security/advisories/GHSA-5r3x-p7xx-x6q5"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-28631"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak/commit/9ff5f8df0ac951f5742d22a72c39b89a15f56639"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak/releases/tag/0.17.0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OUYME2VA555X6567H7ORIJQFN4BVGT6N"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PTWZWCT7KCX2KTXTLPUYZ3EHOONG4X46"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/VQ3UBC7LE4VPCMZBTADIBL353CH7CPVV"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-755" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-03-28T14:45:28Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-03-28T21:15:00Z"
  }
}