CVE-2023-26485
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.
Leer descripción completaMostrar menos
### 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](https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm) is a fork of [cmark](https://github.com/commonmark/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](https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm)
CVSS
- Versión: 3.1
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- Puntuación base: 7.5
Probabilidad de explotación (EPSS)
- Probabilidad de explotación en los próximos 30 días: 1.03%
- Percentil entre todas las CVEs puntuadas: 63
- Fecha de la puntuación: 6/10/2026
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, de FIRST) estima la probabilidad de que una vulnerabilidad sea explotada en 30 días. Complementa a CVSS (impacto) y a CISA KEV (explotación confirmada).
Tecnologías afectadas (1)
CWE
- CWE-400, CWE-407
Referencias
- https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/commit/07a66c9bc341f902878e37d7da8647d6ef150987
- https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/security/advisories/GHSA-r8vr-c48j-fcc5
- https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/commit/07a66c9bc341f902878e37d7da8647d6ef150987
- https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/security/advisories/GHSA-r8vr-c48j-fcc5
JSON original (NVD)
Mostrar
{
"id": "CVE-2023-26485",
"cveTags": [],
"metrics": {
"ssvcV203": [
{
"source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
"ssvcData": {
"id": "CVE-2023-26485",
"role": "CISA Coordinator",
"options": [
{
"exploitation": "poc"
},
{
"automatable": "yes"
},
{
"technicalImpact": "partial"
}
],
"version": "2.0.3",
"timestamp": "2025-02-11T17:20:05.803675Z"
}
}
],
"cvssMetricV31": [
{
"type": "Secondary",
"source": "security-advisories@github.com",
"cvssData": {
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"version": "3.1",
"baseScore": 5.3,
"attackVector": "NETWORK",
"baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L",
"integrityImpact": "NONE",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"availabilityImpact": "LOW",
"privilegesRequired": "NONE",
"confidentialityImpact": "NONE"
},
"impactScore": 1.4,
"exploitabilityScore": 3.9
},
{
"type": "Primary",
"source": "nvd@nist.gov",
"cvssData": {
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"version": "3.1",
"baseScore": 7.5,
"attackVector": "NETWORK",
"baseSeverity": "HIGH",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
"integrityImpact": "NONE",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
"privilegesRequired": "NONE",
"confidentialityImpact": "NONE"
},
"impactScore": 3.6,
"exploitabilityScore": 3.9
}
]
},
"affected": [
{
"source": "security-advisories@github.com",
"affectedData": [
{
"vendor": "github",
"product": "cmark-gfm",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "< 0.29.0.gfm.10"
}
]
}
]
}
],
"published": "2023-03-31T23:15:07.250",
"references": [
{
"url": "https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/commit/07a66c9bc341f902878e37d7da8647d6ef150987",
"tags": [
"Patch"
],
"source": "security-advisories@github.com"
},
{
"url": "https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/security/advisories/GHSA-r8vr-c48j-fcc5",
"tags": [
"Exploit",
"Vendor Advisory"
],
"source": "security-advisories@github.com"
},
{
"url": "https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/commit/07a66c9bc341f902878e37d7da8647d6ef150987",
"tags": [
"Patch"
],
"source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
},
{
"url": "https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm/security/advisories/GHSA-r8vr-c48j-fcc5",
"tags": [
"Exploit",
"Vendor Advisory"
],
"source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
}
],
"vulnStatus": "Modified",
"weaknesses": [
{
"type": "Secondary",
"source": "security-advisories@github.com",
"description": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "CWE-400"
},
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "CWE-407"
}
]
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "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.\n\n\n\n\n### Impact\n\nA polynomial time complexity issue in cmark-gfm may lead to unbounded resource exhaustion and subsequent denial of service.\n\n### Proof of concept\n\n```\n$ ~/cmark-gfm$ python3 -c 'pad = \"_\" * 100000; print(pad + \".\" + pad, end=\"\")' | time ./build/src/cmark-gfm --to plaintext\n```\n\nIncreasing the number 10000 in the above commands causes the running time to increase quadratically.\n\n### Patches\n\nThis vulnerability have been patched in 0.29.0.gfm.10.\n\n### Note on cmark and cmark-gfm\n\nXXX: TBD\n\n[cmark-gfm](https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm) is a fork of [cmark](https://github.com/commonmark/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`. \n\n### Credit\n\nWe would like to thank @gravypod for reporting this vulnerability.\n\n### References\n\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_complexity\n\n### For more information\n\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n\n* Open an issue in [github/cmark-gfm](https://github.com/github/cmark-gfm)\n"
}
],
"lastModified": "2026-06-17T05:43:26.410",
"configurations": [
{
"nodes": [
{
"negate": false,
"cpeMatch": [
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:a:github:cmark-gfm:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"vulnerable": true,
"matchCriteriaId": "E3CE1A70-0583-4858-9DA3-7A4E9717FE3A",
"versionEndExcluding": "0.29.0.gfm.10"
}
],
"operator": "OR"
}
]
}
],
"sourceIdentifier": "security-advisories@github.com"
}