CVE-2021-38186Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Cross-site scripting via unescaped link-target ampersands

Published Aug 8, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Cross-site scripting in the comrak crate before 0.10.1 allows remote attackers to execute script through crafted Markdown links. The HTML formatter treats ampersands in link targets as safe, allowing encoded data or JavaScript schemes to survive output generation and be decoded by a browser. Exploitation requires an application to render attacker-controlled Markdown and a user to follow the resulting link, enabling script execution in that user's browser context.

CVSS severity6.1
Medium
EPSS probability0.74%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Cross-site scripting in the comrak crate before 0.10.1 allows remote attackers to execute script through crafted Markdown links. The HTML formatter treats ampersands in link targets as safe, allowing encoded data or JavaScript schemes to survive output generation and be decoded by a browser. Exploitation requires an application to render attacker-controlled Markdown and a user to follow the resulting link, enabling script execution in that user's browser context.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-38186
Published
Aug 8, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-79, T1204.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 8, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

6.1NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
4.3NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-79Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
T1204.001User Execution: Malicious Link

Public exploit references

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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