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NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2026-44898: Mistune TOC Anchor Injection XSS

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 24/100)

  • 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: 0.22% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. A user must open a link or visit a page. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: lepture mistune 3.2.1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to lepture mistune 3.2.1 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

Mistune is a Python Markdown parser with renderers and plugins. Prior to 3.2.1, render_toc_ul() builds a <ul> table-of-contents tree from a list of (level, id, text) tuples. Both the id value (used as href="#<id>") and the text value (used as the visible link label) are inserted into <a> tags via a plain Python format string — with no HTML escaping applied to either value. When heading IDs are derived from user-supplied heading text (the standard use-case for readable slug anchors), an attacker can craft a heading whose text breaks out of the href="#..." attribute context, injecting arbitrary HTML tags including <script> blocks directly into the rendered TOC. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.2.1.

MediumCVSS 6.1 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
May 26, 2026
Updated
Jul 24, 2026
EPSS
0.2% · 13th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

24

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
24 / 40 · 6.1 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.2%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
proof of concept
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · GitHub_M
6.1
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

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-2026-44898

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
mistune projectmistune

Limit the impact of XSS

This is a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. A well-configured Content-Security-Policy doesn't fix it, but greatly reduces its impact. Check your site's CSP and other security headers for free.

Check security headers

Affected versions

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

  • mistune project mistunebefore 3.2.1

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.

  • lepture mistune

    • < 3.2.1affected

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12mistunefrom 0—
PyPImistunefrom 3.2.0 · before 3.2.13.2.1
PyPImistunebefore 3.2.13.2.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Python 3 15 SP7python-mistunebefore 2.0.5-150400.11.8.12.0.5-150400.11.8.1

Same product

mistune project: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-59928Mistune block_parser: quadratic-time parsing on long lists of repeated reference-link definitions
    30Monitor
  • CVE-2026-59925inline_parser: quadratic-time parsing on long runs of `**x**` and `***x***` emphasis pairs
    30Monitor
  • CVE-2026-59922Mistune plugins/formatting: quadratic-time parsing on long runs of `~~x~~`, `==x==`, and `^^x^^` markers (strikethrough / mark / insert)
    30Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-44896May 26, 2026 · Mistune: XSS via unescaped figclass/figwidth in Figure directive
    21Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-44897May 26, 2026 · Mistune Heading ID Attribute Injection XSS
    24Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-44899May 26, 2026 · Mistune Image Directive CSS Injection Vulnerability
    24Monitor

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
lepture mistune3.2.1 · descriptionVendor (CNA)
PyPI:mistune3.2.1Package registry (OSV)
suse:python-mistune2.0.5-150400.11.8.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Python 3 15 SP7Package 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.

Credits

All researchers

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.

  • CVE-2026-447080 days apartMistune Math Plugin XSS Escape Bypass
    24Monitor
  • CVE-2026-448970 days apartMistune Heading ID Attribute Injection XSS
    24Monitor
  • CVE-2026-448990 days apartMistune Image Directive CSS Injection Vulnerability
    24Monitor
  • CVE-2026-5992343 days apartMistune: XSS via percent-encoded javascript URI bypass in safe_url()
    24Monitor
  • CVE-2026-5992943 days apartMistune renderers/html.safe_url: HARMFUL_PROTOCOLS list misses legacy and chained schemes that historically chain to `javascript:` execution
    24Monitor
  • CVE-2026-448960 days apartMistune: XSS via unescaped figclass/figwidth in Figure directive
    21Monitor

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

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
low · data can be read
Integrity
low · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
none

Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality impact
Low
Integrity impact
Low
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

CVSS vector

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

nvd-secondary

Root cause

User content is inserted into the page as HTML. The browser interprets the content as code rather than data.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-79 class

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

Vulnerable

ts
commentEl.innerHTML = comment.body;

Fixed

ts
commentEl.textContent = comment.body;

Attack context

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

ATT&CK techniques

—

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