Home/CVE/cmark-gfm is GitHub's fork of cmark, a CommonMark parsing and rendering library and program in C. A polynomial time comp
CVE

CVE-2023-26485

cmark-gfm is GitHub's fork of cmark, a CommonMark parsing and rendering library and program in C. A polynomial time comp

cmark-gfm is GitHub's fork of cmark, a CommonMark parsing and rendering library and program in C. A polynomial time complexity issue in cmark-gfm may lead to unbounded resource exhaustion and subsequent denial of service. This CVE covers quadratic complexity issues when parsing text which leads with either large numbers of _ characters. This issue has been addressed in version 0.29.0.gfm.10. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should validate that their input comes from trusted sources. ### Impact A polynomial time complexity issue in cmark-gfm may lead to unbounded resource exhaustion and subsequent denial of service. ### Proof of concept ``` $ ~/cmark-gfm$ python3 -c 'pad = "_" * 100000.

print(pad + "." + pad, end="")' | time ./build/src/cmark-gfm --to plaintext `` Increasing the number 10000 in the above commands causes the running time to increase quadratically. ### Patches This vulnerability have been patched in 0.29.0.gfm.10. ### Note on cmark and cmark-gfm XXX: TBD cmark-gfm is a fork of cmark that adds the GitHub Flavored Markdown extensions. The two codebases have diverged over time, but share a common core. These bugs affect both cmark and cmark-gfm`. ### Credit We would like to thank @gravypod for reporting this vulnerability. ### References https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_complexity ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in github/cmark-gfm.

MEDIUM · CVSS 5.3 EPSS 0.00222
Schedule remediation
  • Public exploit or PoC is available
  • SSVC automatable: yes - attacks can be scripted at scale
Sigma rules0 YARA rules0
Look this up elsewhere - one-click external pivots
How to read a CVE - triage first, then detect and patch
This page is every public fact about CVE-2023-26485, cross-linked. Its job is to answer one question fast - does this need my attention now? - and then hand you the two things you do about it. Here is how an analyst reads it.
Triage: should I act now? Four signals, and they are not interchangeable:
CVSSseverity - how bad it is IF exploited, 0-10. A high CVSS alone is not urgency; a flaw can be a perfect 10 and never actually be attacked. EPSSprobability - a model’s estimate of the chance it is exploited in the next 30 days, 0-1. This is the “will it actually happen” signal. CISA KEVconfirmed - it is being exploited in the wild right now. The strongest signal on the page; KEV beats any score. Weaponisedavailability - public exploits / PoCs, and especially Metasploit modules rated Excellent / Great. Reliable, packaged exploit code means low-skill attackers can use it today.
How they combine: KEV, or a dependable Metasploit module, means patch now regardless of CVSS. High CVSS + low EPSS + no exploit is real but not an emergency - schedule it. Low CVSS but KEV-listed still gets patched now. The verdict above already weighed these for you; this is how it got there.
Then what - two workflows:
Detectwhen you cannot patch today, follow this CVE to the ATT&CK techniques it enables, then Build a SIEM detection (the green button) - author a rule, test it in Atomic, deploy it. That buys visibility while the patch waits. PatchAffected products / packages tell you if you are exposed; Fixed versions by distribution and Vendor advisories give the exact version that closes it.
Reading order for the panels below: verdict + badges, then Public exploits / Metasploit (is it weaponised), then ATT&CK techniques + Sigma / IDS rules (can I detect it), then Affected products / packages + Fixed versions (am I exposed, what patches it), then Threat actors / IOCs (who uses it), then Scoring & timeline / references (the evidence).

ATT&CK techniques

1

Techniques this CVE enables - linked via CWECAPECATT&CK. High◆ = named directly in ATT&CK or Nuclei templates.

▤ Build a SIEM detection for these techniques

CAPEC attack patterns

3

Affected Products & Versions

1
github cmark-gfm< 0.29.0.gfm.10

Affected Packages

7
Language-ecosystem packages (from OSV) tied to this CVE, with the version that fixes it - the dependency-level detail NVD doesn’t carry.
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS cmark
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS cmark-gfm
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS cmark
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS cmark-gfm
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS cmark
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS cmark-gfm
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS cmark

Public Exploits & PoCs

4
These PoC and exploit links come from public sources and are not verified to be safe or functional. Review the code before running anything, and treat unverified entries as untrusted.

Scoring & Timeline

5.3
MEDIUM · CVSS v3.1 · [email protected]
View on NVD
Attack Vector
Network Adjacent Local Physical
Attack Complexity
Low High
Privileges Required
None Low High
User Interaction
None Required
Scope
Unchanged Changed
Confidentiality
None Low High
Integrity
None Low High
Availability
None Low High
Published to NVD31 Mar 2023 · 11:15 PM
CVSS VectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
SSVC triage · cisa-vulnrichment
Exploitation
poc
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial
SSVC asks the questions that actually drive patch urgency: is it being exploited, can attacks be automated, and how total is the impact.

Vendor Advisories

1
🔗

References & Sources

1
Source URLs (vendor pages, mailing lists, write-ups). Exploit/PoC links are in their own section above to avoid duplication.
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