CVE-2024-28246 | KaTeX is missing normalization of the protocol in URLs allows bypassing forbidden protocols

KaTeX is a JavaScript library for TeX math rendering on the web. Code that uses KaTeX's `trust` option, specifically that provides a function to blacklist certain URL protocols, can be fooled by URLs in malicious inputs that use uppercase characters in the protocol. In particular, this can allow for malicious input to generate `javascript:` links in the output, even if the `trust` function tries to forbid this protocol via `trust: (context) => context.protocol !== 'javascript'`. Upgrade to KaTeX v0.16.10 to remove this vulnerability.

Published: 2024-03-25 Last update: 2025-09-02 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2024-28246 is rated Low Risk (28/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.06%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2024-28246

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 2025-11-21 0.23% 0.06% -0.18%
2 2025-11-18 0.06% 0.23% +0.17%
3 2025-08-14 — 0.06% —

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-28246

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L 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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 2.1 3.4 [email protected]
5.4 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N 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:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 2.8 2.5 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-28246

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2024-28246

GHSA-3wc5-fcw2-2329 · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: npm — KaTeX missing normalization of the protocol in URLs allows bypassing forbidden protocols

OS Trackers for CVE-2024-28246

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2024-28246 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (node-katex), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 3, open 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2024-28246
ubuntu medium CVE-2024-28246 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (node-katex), 9 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, upstream): not-affected 6, released 2, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2024-28246

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-28246

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
katex katex >= 0.11.0, < 0.16.10 cpe:2.3:a:katex:katex:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2024-28246

cvelogic Threat Intelligence