CVE-2023-42821

github.com/gomarkdown/markdown Out-of-bounds Read while parsing citations

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: September 22, 2023 at 04:55 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 06:24 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorMarkdown

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Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 1%
SSVC
PoC

Description

The package `github.com/gomarkdown/markdown` is a Go library for parsing Markdown text and rendering as HTML. Prior to pseudoversion `0.0.0-20230922105210-14b16010c2ee`, which corresponds with commit `14b16010c2ee7ff33a940a541d993bd043a88940`, 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. This can result in a denial of service. Commit `14b16010c2ee7ff33a940a541d993bd043a88940`/pseudoversion `0.0.0-20230922105210-14b16010c2ee` contains a patch for this issue.

Affected

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

v < 0.0.0-20230922105210-14b16010c2ee
Affected range stops below 0.0.0-20230922105210-14b16010c2ee, 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:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCPoCAutomatablePartial impact

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

CVSS

7.5HIGHGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-125

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