CVE-2023-36462Network attack vector

Phishing via misleading verified-profile link rendering

Published Jul 6, 2023 · Updated Oct 24, 2024

Improper link rendering in Mastodon 2.6.0 through 3.5.8, 4.0.0 through 4.0.4, and 4.1.0 through 4.1.2 allows remote attackers to enable phishing. For verified fields on non-local accounts, account_field_value_format rendered field.value through the generic HTML-aware formatter instead of rebuilding the anchor from field.value_for_verification. Remote attackers must control a verified profile, and a victim must view and click the disguised link; the browser then reveals and opens the actual URL.

CVSS severity5.4
Medium
EPSS probability0.62%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper link rendering in Mastodon 2.6.0 through 3.5.8, 4.0.0 through 4.0.4, and 4.1.0 through 4.1.2 allows remote attackers to enable phishing. For verified fields on non-local accounts, account_field_value_format rendered field.value through the generic HTML-aware formatter instead of rebuilding the anchor from field.value_for_verification. Remote attackers must control a verified profile, and a victim must view and click the disguised link; the browser then reveals and opens the actual URL.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-36462
Published
Jul 6, 2023
Updated
Oct 24, 2024
Vendor
Mastodon
Product
Mastodon
Classifications
CWE-20, T1036
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 6, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 24, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=>= 2.6.0, < 3.5.9
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.5
  3. Affected versionversion=>= 4.1.0, < 4.1.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Mastodon · Mastodonversion=>= 2.6.0, < 3.5.9; version=>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.5; version=>= 4.1.0, < 4.1.3

Published CVSS scores

5.4NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
5.4GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
T1036Masquerading

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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo