CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2023-22485

XML Injection (aka Blind XPath Injection)

Published: Jan 24, 2023 | Modified: Feb 02, 2023
CVSS 3.x
5.3
MEDIUM
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
CVSS 2.x
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
MEDIUM

cmark-gfm is GitHubs fork of cmark, a CommonMark parsing and rendering library and program in C. In versions prior 0.29.0.gfm.7, a crafted markdown document can trigger an out-of-bounds read in the validate_protocol function. We believe this bug is harmless in practice, because the out-of-bounds read accesses malloc metadata without causing any visible damage.This vulnerability has been patched in 0.29.0.gfm.7.

Weakness

The product does not properly neutralize special elements that are used in XML, allowing attackers to modify the syntax, content, or commands of the XML before it is processed by an end system.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Cmark-gfm Github * 0.29.0.gfm.7 (excluding)
Cmark-gfm Ubuntu kinetic *
Cmark-gfm Ubuntu lunar *
Cmark-gfm Ubuntu mantic *
Cmark-gfm Ubuntu trusty *
Cmark-gfm Ubuntu xenial *

Potential Mitigations

  • Assume all input is malicious. Use an “accept known good” input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
  • When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, “boat” may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as “red” or “blue.”
  • Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code’s environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright.

References