CVE-2023-22485
cmark-gfm out-of-bounds read in validate_protocol
cmark-gfm is GitHub's 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.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
5.3
cmark-gfm out-of-bounds read in validate_protocol
cmark-gfm is GitHub's 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.
- Record
CVE-2023-22485- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-125
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-26632
5.3
cmark-gfm is GitHub's 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.
- Record
EUVD-2023-26632- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
5.3
cmark-gfm is GitHub's 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.
- Record
CVE-2023-22485- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-125, CWE-91
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
5.3
cmark-gfm out-of-bounds read in validate_protocol
cmark-gfm is GitHub's 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.
- Record
CVE-2023-22485- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-125
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2023-22485
5.3
cmark-gfm is GitHub's 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.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2023-22485- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2023-22485
5.3
cmark-gfm is GitHub's 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.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-22485- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVRSEC-2023-8 No score
Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerabilities
cmark-gfm, GitHub's extended version of the CommonMark library in C, suffers from multiple vulnerabilities affecting versions prior to 0.29.0.gfm.12. Various issues, including polynomial time complexity in multiple components like autolink extension, handle_close_bracket, and parsing of certain text patterns (leading >, -, _), may lead to unbounded resource exhaustion and denial of service. An out-of-bounds read in the validate_protocol function was also identified but is considered less harmful. Patches are available in versions 0.29.0.gfm.7, 0.29.0.gfm.10, and 0.29.0.gfm.12. Upgrading is advised, and users unable to upgrade should validate input from trusted sources.
- Record
RSEC-2023-8- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
cmark-gfmDebian:12 |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.29.0.gfm.13-10.29.0.gfm.13-20.29.0.gfm.13-30.29.0.gfm.13-40.29.0.gfm.13-70.29.0.gfm.13-7.10.29.0.gfm.6-6 |
None known |
cmark-gfmDebian:13 |
before 0.29.0.gfm.13-1 | 0.29.0.gfm.13-1 |
cmark-gfmDebian:14 |
before 0.29.0.gfm.13-1 | 0.29.0.gfm.13-1 |
python-cmarkgfmDebian:12 |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.8.0-32024.11.20-12025.10.22-12025.10.22-2 |
None known |
python-cmarkgfmDebian:13 |
before 2024.11.20-1 | 2024.11.20-1 |
python-cmarkgfmDebian:14 |
before 2024.11.20-1 | 2024.11.20-1 |
r-cran-commonmarkDebian:12 |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.8.1-11.9.0-11.9.1-11.9.2-11.9.2-2 Show 4 moreShow less1.9.5-12.0.0-12.0.0-22.0.0-3 |
None known |
r-cran-commonmarkDebian:13 |
before 1.9.0-1 | 1.9.0-1 |
r-cran-commonmarkDebian:14 |
before 1.9.0-1 | 1.9.0-1 |
ruby-commonmarkerDebian:12 |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.23.10-10.23.6-10.23.9-12.10.0-12.10.0-2 Show 5 moreShow less2.10.1-12.8.3-12.8.3-22.8.3-32.8.3-4 |
None known |
Show 6 moreShow less
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
ruby-commonmarkerDebian:13 |
before 0.23.10-1 | 0.23.10-1 |
ruby-commonmarkerDebian:14 |
before 0.23.10-1 | 0.23.10-1 |
commonmarkCRAN From an advisory covering 7 CVEs |
0.2 up to 1.9.2, plus listed versions 0.40.50.60.70.8 Show 14 moreShow less0.91.01.11.21.41.51.61.71.81.91.9.11.8.01.8.11.9.0 |
1.9.2 |
cmark-gfmUbuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.28.3.gfm.20-30.29.0.gfm.0-30.29.0.gfm.0-40.29.0.gfm.0-4ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
None known |
cmark-gfmUbuntu:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.29.0.gfm.0-60.29.0.gfm.2-10.29.0.gfm.2-1+really.0.29.0.gfm.0ubuntu10.29.0.gfm.2-20.29.0.gfm.3-3 |
None known |
cmark-gfmUbuntu:24.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.29.0.gfm.6-60.29.0.gfm.6-6build1 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-22485 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.3) in Github Cmark-gfm, published January 24, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.73%, the 54th percentile. Fixed in cmark-gfm 0.29.0.gfm.13-1.
References
github.com/github/cmark-gfm/security/advisories/GHSA-c944-cv5f-hpvr
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2023/22xxx/CVE-2023-22485.json
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-22485
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-22485
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-37463
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-26485
Show 7 moreShow less
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-24824
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-22486
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-22484
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-22483
github.com/r-lib/commonmark/issues/26
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-22485
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-22485