GHSA-3527-qv2q-pfvx
league/commonmark contains a XSS vulnerability in Attributes extension
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Packagist | league/commonmark | >= 1.5.0, < 2.7.0 | 2.7.0 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
### Summary
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the [Attributes extension](https://commonmark.thephpleague.com/extensions/attributes/) of the league/commonmark library (versions 1.5.0 through 2.6.x) allows remote attackers to insert malicious JavaScript calls into HTML.
### Details
The league/commonmark library provides configuration options such as `html_input: 'strip'` and `allow_unsafe_links: false` to mitigate cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks by stripping raw HTML and disallowing unsafe links. However, when the Attributes Extension is enabled, it introduces a way for users to inject arbitrary HTML attributes into elements via Markdown syntax using curly braces.
As a result, even with the secure configuration shown above, an attacker can inject dangerous attributes into applications using this extension via a payload such as:
```md
![](){onerror=alert(1)}
```
Which results in the following HTML:
```html
<p><img onerror="alert(1)" src="" alt="" /></p>
```
Which causes the JS to execute immediately on page load.
### Patches
Version 2.7.0 contains three changes to prevent this XSS attack vector:
- All attributes starting with `on` are considered unsafe and blocked by default
- [Support for an explicit allowlist of allowed HTML attributes](https://commonmark.thephpleague.com/2.7/extensions/attributes/#configuration)
- Manually-added `href` and `src` attributes now respect the existing `allow_unsafe_links` configuration option
### Workarounds
If upgrading is not feasible, please consider:
- Disabling the `AttributesExtension` for untrusted users
- [Filtering the rendered HTML through a library like HTMLPurifier](https://commonmark.thephpleague.com/security/#additional-filtering)
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.