CVE-2017-15612: Mistune Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-hpv5-v8g5-c864
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CVSS 6.1
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2017-15612 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.1) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Mistune libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves cross-site scripting in mistune. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.8.

CVE-2017-15612 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2017-15612
GHSA Identifier GHSA-hpv5-v8g5-c864
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.1
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Mistune
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.1

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).

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

How to Fix CVE-2017-15612

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

mistune fixed: 0.8 
pip install mistune>=0.8
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

pip show mistune

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2017-15612, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show mistune

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Mistune in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.8), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show mistune command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Mistune, 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

mistune.py in Mistune 0.7.4 allows XSS via an unexpected newline (such as in java\nscript:) or a crafted email address, related to the escape and autolink functions.

CVE-2017-15612 Affected Mistune Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.8
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
mistune
pypi/mistune
PyPI
< 0.8
0.8

References

NVD — CVE-2017-15612 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-15612
Mistune Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/lepture/mistune/pull/140
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/lepture/mistune/commit/d6f0b6402299bf5a380e7b4e77bd80e8736630fe
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-hpv5-v8g5-c864
Mistune Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/lepture/mistune
Mistune Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/mistune/PYSEC-2017-80.yaml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2017-15612?
CVE-2017-15612 is a security vulnerability in Mistune involving Cross-site Scripting in Mistune under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Mistune versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.8 across affected packages: mistune.
What version fixes CVE-2017-15612?
Upgrading to 0.8 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is mistune affected?
Yes, mistune is affected in releases prior to 0.8. Upgrade your dependency to 0.8 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-15612?
CVE-2017-15612 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2017-15612?
CVE-2017-15612 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2017-15612?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show mistune'. 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-hpv5-v8g5-c864",
  "modified" : "2023-08-08T11:20:28Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T00:26:00Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2017-15612" ],
  "summary" : "Cross-site Scripting in Mistune",
  "details" : "mistune.py in Mistune 0.7.4 allows XSS via an unexpected newline (such as in java\\nscript:) or a crafted email address, related to the escape and autolink functions.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "mistune"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.8"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-15612"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/lepture/mistune/pull/140"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/lepture/mistune/commit/d6f0b6402299bf5a380e7b4e77bd80e8736630fe"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-hpv5-v8g5-c864"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/lepture/mistune"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/mistune/PYSEC-2017-80.yaml"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-07-01T19:44:32Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2017-10-19T08:29:00Z"
  }
}