CVE-2020-26297

XSS in mdBook's search page

MEDIUM
6.1
CVSS Score
Published: January 4, 2021 at 06:45 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 03:08 AM UTC
2 products affected across 1 vendorMdbookmdBook

Using mdBook by rust-lang?

Get instant alerts when new vulnerabilities affect mdBook - before attackers find them.

Real-time alertsTrack your software stackFree plan available
Severity
MEDIUM6.1
Exploit prediction
EPSS 1%

Description

mdBook is a utility to create modern online books from Markdown files and is written in Rust. In mdBook before version 0.4.5, there is a vulnerability affecting the search feature of mdBook, which could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary JavaScript code on the page. The search feature of mdBook (introduced in version 0.1.4) was affected by a cross site scripting vulnerability that allowed an attacker to execute arbitrary JavaScript code on an user's browser by tricking the user into typing a malicious search query, or tricking the user into clicking a link to the search page with the malicious search query prefilled. mdBook 0.4.5 fixes the vulnerability by properly escaping the search query. Owners of websites built with mdBook have to upgrade to mdBook 0.4.5 or greater and rebuild their website contents with it.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

0.1.4 ≤ v < 0.4.5
Affected range stops below 0.4.5, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
v < 0.4.5
Affected range stops below 0.4.5, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (5)

CVSS

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality
LOW
Integrity
LOW
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-79

Get alerted

Stop reading CVE feeds looking for your own stack

Track the products you run and VulnTracker tells you when a new CVE affects them — with what is known about fixing it, and nothing about the rest.

Free plan, no card