Cross-site scripting via unescaped metadata title
Published Jul 6, 2026 · Updated Jul 6, 2026
Cross-site scripting in Showdown 2.1.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute JavaScript via crafted Markdown frontmatter. With metadata and completeHTMLDocument enabled, metadata.js leaves angle brackets unescaped and completeHTMLDocument.js concatenates the title into the HTML title element. Execution occurs when an application renders attacker-controlled Markdown as a complete page and a user loads the generated HTML, allowing script access within that page's origin.
Summary
What happened
Cross-site scripting in Showdown 2.1.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute JavaScript via crafted Markdown frontmatter. With metadata and completeHTMLDocument enabled, metadata.js leaves angle brackets unescaped and completeHTMLDocument.js concatenates the title into the HTML title element. Execution occurs when an application renders attacker-controlled Markdown as a complete page and a user loads the generated HTML, allowing script access within that page's origin.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-59711
- Published
- Jul 6, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 6, 2026
- Vendor
- ShowdownJS
- Product
- Showdown
- Classifications
- CWE-79, T1203
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 6, 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=0 <=2.1.0
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
- GitHub issue #1047 frontmatter proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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