Rendering policy bypass via substring allow-list checks
Published Sep 19, 2025 · Updated Sep 19, 2025
Type confusion in DigitalOcean do-markdownit 1.16.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to bypass configured rendering allow-lists. When allowedClasses or allowedEnvironments is a string rather than an array, callout and fence_environment use String.includes(), accepting partial substrings instead of exact list members. Exploitation requires a downstream service to expose attacker-controlled Markdown while configuring either option as a string, enabling unauthorized classes or environments in rendered output.
Summary
What happened
Type confusion in DigitalOcean do-markdownit 1.16.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to bypass configured rendering allow-lists. When allowedClasses or allowedEnvironments is a string rather than an array, callout and fence_environment use String.includes(), accepting partial substrings instead of exact list members. Exploitation requires a downstream service to expose attacker-controlled Markdown while configuring either option as a string, enabling unauthorized classes or environments in rendered output.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-59717
- Published
- Sep 19, 2025
- Updated
- Sep 19, 2025
- Vendor
- DigitalOcean
- Product
- do-markdownit
- Classifications
- CWE-843, T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 19, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 19, 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.
- Affected versionversion=0 <=1.16.1
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
- PoC for Incorrect Access Control in @digitalocean/do-markdownitproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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