CVE-2023-22491
gatsby-transformer-remark vulnerable to unsanitized JavaScript code injection
Gatsby is a free and open source framework based on React that helps developers build websites and apps. The gatsby-transformer-remark plugin prior to versions 5.25.1 and 6.3.2 passes input through to the gray-matter npm package, which is vulnerable to JavaScript injection in its default configuration, unless input is sanitized. The vulnerability is present in gatsby-transformer-remark when passing input in data mode (querying MarkdownRemark nodes via GraphQL). Injected JavaScript executes in the context of the build server. To exploit this vulnerability untrusted/unsanitized input would need to be sourced by or added into a file processed by gatsby-transformer-remark. A patch has been introduced in [email protected] and [email protected] which mitigates the issue by disabling the gray-matter JavaScript Frontmatter engine. As a workaround, if an older version of gatsby-transformer-remark must be used, input passed into the plugin should be sanitized ahead of processing. It is encouraged for projects to upgrade to the latest major release branch for all Gatsby plugins to ensure the latest security updates and bug fixes are received in a timely manner.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
8.1
gatsby-transformer-remark vulnerable to unsanitized JavaScript code injection
Gatsby is a free and open source framework based on React that helps developers build websites and apps. The gatsby-transformer-remark plugin prior to versions 5.25.1 and 6.3.2 passes input through to the gray-matter npm package, which is vulnerable to JavaScript injection in its default configuration, unless input is sanitized. The vulnerability is present in gatsby-transformer-remark when passing input in data mode (querying MarkdownRemark nodes via GraphQL). Injected JavaScript executes in the context of the build server. To exploit this vulnerability untrusted/unsanitized input would need to be sourced by or added into a file processed by gatsby-transformer-remark. A patch has been introduced in [email protected] and [email protected] which mitigates the issue by disabling the gray-matter JavaScript Frontmatter engine. As a workaround, if an older version of gatsby-transformer-remark must be used, input passed into the plugin should be sanitized ahead of processing. It is encouraged for projects to upgrade to the latest major release branch for all Gatsby plugins to ensure the latest security updates and bug fixes are received in a timely manner.
- Record
CVE-2023-22491- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-89, CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-0381
8.1
Gatsby is a free and open source framework based on React that helps developers build websites and apps. The gatsby-transformer-remark plugin prior to versions 5.25.1 and 6.3.2 passes input through to the gray-matter npm package, which is vulnerable to JavaScript injection in its default configuration, unless input is sanitized. The vulnerability is present in gatsby-transformer-remark when passing input in data mode (querying MarkdownRemark nodes via GraphQL). Injected JavaScript executes in the context of the build server. To exploit this vulnerability untrusted/unsanitized input would need to be sourced by or added into a file processed by gatsby-transformer-remark. A patch has been introduced in [email protected] and [email protected] which mitigates the issue by disabling the gray-matter JavaScript Frontmatter engine. As a workaround, if an older version of gatsby-transformer-remark must be used, input passed into the plugin should be sanitized ahead of processing. It is encouraged for projects to upgrade to the latest major release branch for all Gatsby plugins to ensure the latest security updates and bug fixes are received in a timely manner.
- Record
EUVD-2023-0381- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-7ch4-rr99-cqcw
8.1
gatsby-transformer-remark has possible unsanitized JavaScript code injection
Impact
The gatsby-transformer-remark plugin prior to versions 5.25.1 and 6.3.2 passes input through to the gray-matter npm package, which is vulnerable to JavaScript injection in its default configuration, unless input is sanitized. The vulnerability is present in gatsby-transformer-remark when passing input in data mode (querying MarkdownRemark nodes via GraphQL). Injected JavaScript executes in the context of the build server.
To exploit this vulnerability untrusted/unsanitized input would need to be sourced by or added into a file processed by gatsby-transformer-remark. The following payload demonstrates a vulnerable configuration:
---js
((require("child_process")).execSync("id >> /tmp/rce"))
---
Patches
A patch has been introduced in [email protected] and [email protected] which mitigates the issue by disabling the gray-matter JavaScript Frontmatter engine. The patch introduces a new option, JSFrontmatterEngine which is set to false by default. When setting JSFrontmatterEngine to true, input passed to gatsby-plugin-mdx must be sanitized before processing to avoid a security risk. Warnings are displayed when enabling JSFrontmatterEngine to true or if it appears that the MarkdownRemark input is attempting to use the Frontmatter engine.
Workarounds
If an older version of gatsby-transformer-remark must be used, input passed into the plugin should be sanitized ahead of processing.
We encourage projects to upgrade to the latest major release branch for all Gatsby plugins to ensure the latest security updates and bug fixes are received in a timely manner.
For more information
Email us at [email protected].
- Record
GHSA-7ch4-rr99-cqcw- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-20, CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
8.1
Gatsby is a free and open source framework based on React that helps developers build websites and apps. The gatsby-transformer-remark plugin prior to versions 5.25.1 and 6.3.2 passes input through to the gray-matter npm package, which is vulnerable to JavaScript injection in its default configuration, unless input is sanitized. The vulnerability is present in gatsby-transformer-remark when passing input in data mode (querying MarkdownRemark nodes via GraphQL). Injected JavaScript executes in the context of the build server. To exploit this vulnerability untrusted/unsanitized input would need to be sourced by or added into a file processed by gatsby-transformer-remark. A patch has been introduced in [email protected] and [email protected] which mitigates the issue by disabling the gray-matter JavaScript Frontmatter engine. As a workaround, if an older version of gatsby-transformer-remark must be used, input passed into the plugin should be sanitized ahead of processing. It is encouraged for projects to upgrade to the latest major release branch for all Gatsby plugins to ensure the latest security updates and bug fixes are received in a timely manner.
- Record
CVE-2023-22491- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 5.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-20, CWE-89, CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
8.1
gatsby-transformer-remark vulnerable to unsanitized JavaScript code injection
Gatsby is a free and open source framework based on React that helps developers build websites and apps. The gatsby-transformer-remark plugin prior to versions 5.25.1 and 6.3.2 passes input through to the gray-matter npm package, which is vulnerable to JavaScript injection in its default configuration, unless input is sanitized. The vulnerability is present in gatsby-transformer-remark when passing input in data mode (querying MarkdownRemark nodes via GraphQL). Injected JavaScript executes in the context of the build server. To exploit this vulnerability untrusted/unsanitized input would need to be sourced by or added into a file processed by gatsby-transformer-remark. A patch has been introduced in [email protected] and [email protected] which mitigates the issue by disabling the gray-matter JavaScript Frontmatter engine. As a workaround, if an older version of gatsby-transformer-remark must be used, input passed into the plugin should be sanitized ahead of processing. It is encouraged for projects to upgrade to the latest major release branch for all Gatsby plugins to ensure the latest security updates and bug fixes are received in a timely manner.
- Record
CVE-2023-22491- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-20, CWE-89
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-7ch4-rr99-cqcw
8.1
gatsby-transformer-remark has possible unsanitized JavaScript code injection
Impact
The gatsby-transformer-remark plugin prior to versions 5.25.1 and 6.3.2 passes input through to the gray-matter npm package, which is vulnerable to JavaScript injection in its default configuration, unless input is sanitized. The vulnerability is present in gatsby-transformer-remark when passing input in data mode (querying MarkdownRemark nodes via GraphQL). Injected JavaScript executes in the context of the build server.
To exploit this vulnerability untrusted/unsanitized input would need to be sourced by or added into a file processed by gatsby-transformer-remark. The following payload demonstrates a vulnerable configuration:
---js
((require("child_process")).execSync("id >> /tmp/rce"))
---
Patches
A patch has been introduced in [email protected] and [email protected] which mitigates the issue by disabling the gray-matter JavaScript Frontmatter engine. The patch introduces a new option, JSFrontmatterEngine which is set to false by default. When setting JSFrontmatterEngine to true, input passed to gatsby-plugin-mdx must be sanitized before processing to avoid a security risk. Warnings are displayed when enabling JSFrontmatterEngine to true or if it appears that the MarkdownRemark input is attempting to use the Frontmatter engine.
Workarounds
If an older version of gatsby-transformer-remark must be used, input passed into the plugin should be sanitized ahead of processing.
We encourage projects to upgrade to the latest major release branch for all Gatsby plugins to ensure the latest security updates and bug fixes are received in a timely manner.
For more information
Email us at [email protected].
- Record
GHSA-7ch4-rr99-cqcw- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-20, CWE-79
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2023-22491
8.1
Gatsby is a free and open source framework based on React that helps developers build websites and apps. The gatsby-transformer-remark plugin prior to versions 5.25.1 and 6.3.2 passes input through to the gray-matter npm package, which is vulnerable to JavaScript injection in its default configuration, unless input is sanitized. The vulnerability is present in gatsby-transformer-remark when passing input in data mode (querying MarkdownRemark nodes via GraphQL). Injected JavaScript executes in the context of the build server. To exploit this vulnerability untrusted/unsanitized input would need to be sourced by or added into a file processed by gatsby-transformer-remark. A patch has been introduced in [email protected] and [email protected] which mitigates the issue by disabling the gray-matter JavaScript Frontmatter engine. As a workaround, if an older version of gatsby-transformer-remark must be used, input passed into the plugin should be sanitized ahead of processing. It is encouraged for projects to upgrade to the latest major release branch for all Gatsby plugins to ensure the latest security updates and bug fixes are received in a timely manner.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-22491- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 5.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
gatsby-transformer-remarknpm |
6.0.0 up to 6.3.2 | 6.3.2 |
gatsby-transformer-remarknpm |
before 5.25.1 | 5.25.1 |
reactUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.9.4-31.2.0-2build1 |
None known |
reactUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.2.0-31.2.0-3build1 |
None known |
reactUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.2.0-3build21.2.1-1build1 |
None known |
reactUbuntu:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.2.1-1build21.2.2-1 |
None known |
reactUbuntu:24.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.2.2-11.2.2-1build2 |
None known |
reactUbuntu:25.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.2.2-1build41.2.2-1build5 |
None known |
reactUbuntu:26.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.2.2-2build41.2.2-2build5 |
None known |
reactUbuntu:26.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.2.2-1build51.2.2-21.2.2-2build11.2.2-2build4 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-22491 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.1) in Gatsbyjs Gatsby, published January 11, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.58%, the 47th percentile. Fixed in gatsby-transformer-remark 6.3.2.
References
github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby/security/advisories/GHSA-7ch4-rr99-cqcw
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-22491
github.com/advisories/GHSA-7ch4-rr99-cqcw
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2023/22xxx/CVE-2023-22491.json
github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-22491
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-22491