CVE-2026-48801

linkify-it: Quadratic algorithmic complexity in LinkifyIt#match scan loop

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: July 14, 2026 at 08:03 PM UTC
Updated: October 24, 2026 at 09:10 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorIT Linkify IT

Using linkify-it by markdown-it?

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Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.4%
SSVC
PoC

Description

linkify-it is a links recognition library with full Unicode support. Prior to 5.0.1, LinkifyIt.prototype.match, the package's primary public API, has O(N²) algorithmic complexity for inputs containing many fuzzy links or emails because the JavaScript-level scan loop re-slices input and re-runs unanchored regex searches on progressively shorter tails. Any service that synchronously renders untrusted Markdown with linkify:true on a request hot path can inherit a worker-process denial of service triggerable by a tens-of-KB request body. This issue is fixed in version 5.0.1.

Affected

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

All versionsv < 5.0.1
Affected range stops below 5.0.1, 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

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

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-1333

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