CVE-2023-42821 | github.com/gomarkdown/markdown Out-of-bounds Read while parsing citations

Exp

The package `github.com/gomarkdown/markdown` is a Go library for parsing Markdown text and rendering as HTML. Prior to pseudoversion `0.0.0-20230922105210-14b16010c2ee`, which corresponds with commit `14b16010c2ee7ff33a940a541d993bd043a88940`, parsing malformed markdown input with parser that uses parser.Mmark extension could result in out-of-bounds read vulnerability. To exploit the vulnerability, parser needs to have `parser.Mmark` extension set. The panic occurs inside the `citation.go` file on the line 69 when the parser tries to access the element past its length. This can result in a denial of service. Commit `14b16010c2ee7ff33a940a541d993bd043a88940`/pseudoversion `0.0.0-20230922105210-14b16010c2ee` contains a patch for this issue.

Published: 2023-09-22 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-42821 is rated High Exploit Risk (66.4/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.04%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2023-42821

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-42821

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.48% 1.04% +0.56%
2 2026-01-23 0.37% 0.48% +0.11%
3 2025-11-21 — 0.37% —

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-42821

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 3.6 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-42821

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-42821

GHSA-m9xq-6h2j-65r2 · Severity: high · Ecosystem: go — Markdown vulnerable to Out-of-bounds Read while parsing citations

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-42821

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-42821 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (golang-github-gomarkdown-markdown), 4 status rows across 4 suites (bookworm, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 3, open 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-42821
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-42821 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (golang-github-gomarkdown-markdown), 12 status rows across 12 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): ignored 7, needs-triage 3, DNE 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-42821

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-42821

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
gomarkdown markdown — cpe:2.3:a:gomarkdown:markdown:-:*:*:*:*:go:*:*

References for CVE-2023-42821

cvelogic Threat Intelligence