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NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2023-37463: Quadratic complexity bugs may lead to a denial of service

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 30/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.69% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 52.9% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: github cmark-gfm 0.29.0.gfm.12.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to github cmark-gfm 0.29.0.gfm.12 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

cmark-gfm is an extended version of the C reference implementation of CommonMark, a rationalized version of Markdown syntax with a spec. Three polynomial time complexity issues in cmark-gfm may lead to unbounded resource exhaustion and subsequent denial of service. These vulnerabilities have been patched in 0.29.0.gfm.12.

HighCVSS 7.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Jul 13, 2023
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.6% · 52th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

30

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.6%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
proof of concept
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
7.5
CNA · GitHub_M
6.4
1.1 point gap

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2023-37463

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
githubcmark-gfm

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • github cmark-gfmbefore 0.29.0.gfm.12

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • github cmark-gfm

    • < 0.29.0.gfm.12affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12cmark-gfmfrom 0—
Debian:12python-cmarkgfmfrom 0—
Debian:12r-cran-commonmarkfrom 0—
Debian:12ruby-commonmarkerfrom 0—
Debian:13cmark-gfmbefore 0.29.0.gfm.13-10.29.0.gfm.13-1
Debian:13python-cmarkgfmbefore 2024.11.20-12024.11.20-1
Debian:13r-cran-commonmarkbefore 1.9.1-11.9.1-1
Debian:13ruby-commonmarkerbefore 0.23.10-10.23.10-1
openSUSE:Tumbleweedpython-cmarkgfmbefore 2025.10.22-1.42025.10.22-1.4

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2022-24724Integer overflow in table parsing extension leads to heap memory corruption
    40Plan
  • CVE-2024-22051CommonMarker Integer Overflow Vulnerability
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2023-26485Quadratic complexity may lead to a denial of service in cmark-gfm
    30Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-22485Jan 23, 2023 · cmark-gfm out-of-bounds read in validate_protocol
    21Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-22486Jan 26, 2023 · cmark-gfm Quadratic complexity bug in handle_close_bracket may lead to a denial of service
    30Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-24824Mar 31, 2023 · Quadratic complexity may lead to a denial of service in cmark-gfm
    30Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
github cmark-gfm0.29.0.gfm.12 · descriptionVendor (CNA)
debian:cmark-gfm0.29.0.gfm.13-1 · Debian:13Package registry (OSV)
debian:python-cmarkgfm2024.11.20-1 · Debian:13Package registry (OSV)
debian:r-cran-commonmark1.9.1-1 · Debian:13Package registry (OSV)
debian:ruby-commonmarker0.23.10-1 · Debian:13Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:python-cmarkgfm2025.10.22-1.4 · openSUSE:TumbleweedPackage registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

Code that parses nested structures sets no depth or size limit. A small input can turn into a disproportionate processing load.

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

ts
function expand(node) {  return node.children.map(expand);}

Fixed

ts
const MAX_DEPTH = 32;function expand(node, depth = 0) {  if (depth > MAX_DEPTH) throw new Error("too deep");  return node.children.map((c) => expand(c, depth + 1));}

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records