Click hijacking via escaping KaTeX-rendered Markdown
Published Sep 29, 2023 · Updated Apr 25, 2026
Open redirect in GitLab 8.15 through 16.2.7, 16.3 through 16.3.4, and 16.4.0 lets remote authenticated users hijack UI clicks. KaTeX positioning directives escape the Markdown render container, and an href command overlays attacker-controlled links on unrelated interface controls. Exploitation requires permission to publish math-enabled Markdown and a victim who views the content and clicks an overlaid control.
Summary
What happened
Open redirect in GitLab 8.15 through 16.2.7, 16.3 through 16.3.4, and 16.4.0 lets remote authenticated users hijack UI clicks. KaTeX positioning directives escape the Markdown render container, and an href command overlays attacker-controlled links on unrelated interface controls. Exploitation requires permission to publish math-enabled Markdown and a victim who views the content and clicks an overlaid control.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-3922
- Published
- Sep 29, 2023
- Updated
- Apr 25, 2026
- Vendor
- GitLab
- Product
- GitLab
- Classifications
- CWE-601, T1204.001
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 29, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 25, 2026Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=16.2 <16.2.8
- Affected versionversion=16.3 <16.3.5
- Affected versionversion=16.4 <16.4.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- KaTeX Markdown click-hijacking reproductionproof of concept · demonstrated
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
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