CVE-2023-36462

Mastodon's verified profile links can be formatted in a misleading way

MEDIUM

5.4

CVSS Score

Published: July 6, 2023 at 07:16 PM UTC

Updated: June 17, 2026 at 06:06 AM UTC

2 products affected across 2 vendorsMastodonMastodon

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Severity

MEDIUM5.4

Exploit prediction

EPSS 0.6%

SSVC

No known exploit

Description

Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Starting in version 2.6.0 and prior to versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3, an attacker can craft a verified profile link using specific formatting to conceal arbitrary parts of the link, enabling it to appear to link to a different URL altogether. The link is visually misleading, but clicking on it will reveal the actual link. This can still be used for phishing, though, similar to IDN homograph attacks. Versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3 contain a patch for this issue.

Affected

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

Mastodon · Joinmastodon

95%

2.6.0 ≤ v < 3.5.94.0.0 ≤ v < 4.0.54.1.0 ≤ v < 4.1.3

Affected range stops below 3.5.9, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Affected range stops below 4.0.5, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Affected range stops below 4.1.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Mastodon · Mastodon

60%

v < 3.5.9v < 4.0.5v < 4.1.3

Affected range stops below 3.5.9, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Affected range stops below 4.0.5, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Affected range stops below 4.1.3, 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:

Patch and advisory references

References (5)

x_refsource_MISCPatch

Source: [email protected]

https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/commit/610731b03dfcadd887078cb0399f4e514aa1931c

x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes

Source: [email protected]

https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v3.5.9

x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes

Source: [email protected]

https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.0.5

x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes

Source: [email protected]

https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.1.3

x_refsource_CONFIRMVendor Advisory

Source: [email protected]

https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/security/advisories/GHSA-55j9-c3mp-6fcq

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

5.4MEDIUMGitHub_M

Attack Vector: NETWORK
Complexity: LOW
Privileges: NONE
User Interaction: REQUIRED
Scope: UNCHANGED
Confidentiality: LOW
Integrity: LOW
Availability: NONE

Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED

CWE

CWE-20NVD-CWE-noinfo

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