CVE-2015-10005Network attack vector

Service interruption via backtracking CDATA matcher

Published Dec 27, 2022 · Updated Apr 11, 2025

Regular expression denial of service in markdown-it before 3.0.0 allows context-dependent attackers to hang Markdown processing via crafted CDATA input. The CDATA matcher in lib/common/html_re.js uses overlapping repeated alternatives that backtrack excessively when a closing delimiter is absent. Exposure requires an application to parse attacker-controlled Markdown with embedded HTML enabled, and the resulting CPU consumption can interrupt that application service.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.95%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Regular expression denial of service in markdown-it before 3.0.0 allows context-dependent attackers to hang Markdown processing via crafted CDATA input. The CDATA matcher in lib/common/html_re.js uses overlapping repeated alternatives that backtrack excessively when a closing delimiter is absent. Exposure requires an application to parse attacker-controlled Markdown with embedded HTML enabled, and the resulting CPU consumption can interrupt that application service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2015-10005
Published
Dec 27, 2022
Updated
Apr 11, 2025
Vendor
markdown-it
Product
markdown-it
Classifications
CWE-1333, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 27, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 11, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2.x

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

markdown-it · markdown-itversion=2.x

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
3.5VulDBCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-1333Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation Flood

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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