GHSA-mj46-r4gr-5x83
Unsanitized JavaScript code injection possible in gatsby-plugin-mdx
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | gatsby-plugin-mdx | < 2.14.1 | 2.14.1 |
| npm | gatsby-plugin-mdx | >= 3.0.0, < 3.15.2 | 3.15.2 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
### Impact
The gatsby-plugin-mdx plugin prior to versions 3.15.2 and 2.14.1 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 when passing input in both webpack (MDX files in `src/pages` or MDX file imported as component in frontend / React code) and data mode (querying MDX 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 or added into an MDX file. The following MDX 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 MDX input is attempting to use the Frontmatter engine.
### Workarounds
If an older version of `gatsby-plugin-mdx` 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.**
### Credits
We would like to thank Snyk [snyk.io] for initially bringing the issue to our attention, as well as Feng Xiao and Zhongfu Su, who reported the issue to Snyk.
### For more information
Email us at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.
- https://github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby/security/advisories/GHSA-mj46-r4gr-5x83
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-25863
- https://github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby/pull/35830
- https://github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby/pull/35830/commits/f214eb0694c61e348b2751cecd1aace2046bc46e
- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EoCzbwTWOM8-fjvwMbH3bqcZ2iKksxTW/view?usp=sharing
- https://github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby
- https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-GATSBYPLUGINMDX-2405699