CVE-2024-28244

KaTeX's maxExpand bypassed by Unicode sub/superscripts

MEDIUM
6.5
CVSS Score
Published: March 25, 2024 at 07:45 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 07:21 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorKaTeX

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Severity
MEDIUM6.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 2%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

KaTeX is a JavaScript library for TeX math rendering on the web. KaTeX users who render untrusted mathematical expressions could encounter malicious input using `\def` or `\newcommand` that causes a near-infinite loop, despite setting `maxExpand` to avoid such loops. KaTeX supports an option named maxExpand which aims to prevent infinitely recursive macros from consuming all available memory and/or triggering a stack overflow error. Unfortunately, support for "Unicode (sub|super)script characters" allows an attacker to bypass this limit. Each sub/superscript group instantiated a separate Parser with its own limit on macro executions, without inheriting the current count of macro executions from its parent. This has been corrected in KaTeX v0.16.10.

Affected

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

v < 0.16.100.15.4 ≤ v < 0.16.10
Affected range stops below 0.16.10, 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

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

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

CVSS

6.5MEDIUMGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-674

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