CVE-2023-28626: Comrak Comrak Vulnerable To Quadratic Runtime Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-8hqf-xjwp-p67v
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CVSS 5.3
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-28626 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) comrak vulnerable to quadratic runtime vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Comrak libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves comrak vulnerable to quadratic runtime issues when parsing markdown (ghsl-2023-047). Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.17.0.

CVE-2023-28626 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-28626
GHSA Identifier GHSA-8hqf-xjwp-p67v
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
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-2023-28626

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-2023-28626, 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-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. 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 range of quadratic parsing issues from `cmark`/`cmark-gfm` are also present in Comrak. These can be used to craft denial-of-service attacks on services that use Comrak to parse Markdown. ### Patches 0.17.0 contains fixes to known quadratic parsing issues. ### Workarounds n/a ### References * https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/255 * https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/389 * https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/373 * https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/299 * https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/388 * https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/284 * https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/218 * https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/pull/232 * https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/blob/c32ef78bae851cb83b7ad52d0fbff880acdcd44a/test/pathological_tests.py#L63-L65 * https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/blob/c32ef78bae851cb83b7ad52d0fbff880acdcd44a/test/pathological_tests.py#L87-L89

CVE-2023-28626 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-8hqf-xjwp-p67v
NVD — CVE-2023-28626 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-28626
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/389
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/388
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/373
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/299
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/284
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/255
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/218
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/pull/232
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak/commit/ce795b7f471b01589f842dc09af38b025701178d
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/blob/c32ef78bae851cb83b7ad52d0fbff880acdcd44a/test/pathological_tests.py#L63-L65
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/blob/c32ef78bae851cb83b7ad52d0fbff880acdcd44a/test/pathological_tests.py#L87-L89
Comrak Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak
Comrak Release RELEASE
https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak/releases/tag/0.17.0
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-28626?
CVE-2023-28626 is a security vulnerability in Comrak involving Comrak vulnerable to quadratic runtime issues when parsing Markdown (GHSL-2023-047) under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Comrak versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.17.0 across affected packages: comrak.
What version fixes CVE-2023-28626?
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-2023-28626?
CVE-2023-28626 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-2023-28626?
CVE-2023-28626 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2023-28626?
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-8hqf-xjwp-p67v",
  "modified" : "2023-03-28T23:08:31Z",
  "published" : "2023-03-28T14:40:29Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-28626" ],
  "summary" : "Comrak vulnerable to quadratic runtime issues when parsing Markdown (GHSL-2023-047)",
  "details" : "### Impact\nA range of quadratic parsing issues from `cmark`/`cmark-gfm` are also present in Comrak. These can be used to craft denial-of-service attacks on services that use Comrak to parse Markdown.\n\n### Patches\n0.17.0 contains fixes to known quadratic parsing issues.\n\n### Workarounds\n\nn/a\n\n### References\n\n* https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/255\n* https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/389\n* https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/373\n* https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/299\n* https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/388\n* https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/284\n* https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/218\n* https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/pull/232\n* https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/blob/c32ef78bae851cb83b7ad52d0fbff880acdcd44a/test/pathological_tests.py#L63-L65\n* https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/blob/c32ef78bae851cb83b7ad52d0fbff880acdcd44a/test/pathological_tests.py#L87-L89",
  "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" : [ {
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      }, {
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      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
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    "url" : "https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak/security/advisories/GHSA-8hqf-xjwp-p67v"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-28626"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/389"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/388"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/299"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/284"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/255"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/issues/218"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/commonmark/cmark/pull/232"
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    "url" : "https://github.com/kivikakk/comrak/commit/ce795b7f471b01589f842dc09af38b025701178d"
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    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/blob/c32ef78bae851cb83b7ad52d0fbff880acdcd44a/test/pathological_tests.py#L63-L65"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/blob/c32ef78bae851cb83b7ad52d0fbff880acdcd44a/test/pathological_tests.py#L87-L89"
  }, {
    "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-400" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-03-28T14:40:29Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-03-28T21:15:00Z"
  }
}