CVE-2026-54701: Markdown Preview Enhanced: Stored XSS via Unsanitized `.crossnote/head.html` Injection in Webview
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 27/100)
- 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: 0.29% (FIRST EPSS).
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. No account or password is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- Fixed version: shd101wyy vscode-markdown-preview-enhanced 0.8.30.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to shd101wyy vscode-markdown-preview-enhanced 0.8.30 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
Markdown Preview Enhanced is a Markdown preview extension for Visual Studio Code. Prior to 0.8.30, Markdown Preview Enhanced reads repository-controlled .crossnote/head.html content and passes it through resolvePathsInHeader before inserting it into the head of the preview webview document without removing executable content. Script-capable markup executes while the document loads, before the React application and DOMPurify initialize, and can access acquireVsCodeApi to send messages from the webview to the extension host. Opening a Markdown preview in a malicious repository is sufficient to trigger the injected content, and no additional click within the notification or preview is required. This issue is fixed in version 0.8.30.
- Published
- Oct 14, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 20, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.2% · 22th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-79
Report tools
Action score
27
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 27 / 40 · 6.9 / 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
- 6.9
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
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.
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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.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected 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.
—
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 headersVersions 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.
shd101wyy vscode-markdown-preview-enhanced
- < 0.8.30affected
Same product
shd101wyy: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2026-54525Markdown Preview Enhanced: One Click RCE via Markdown Link Command Injection on Windows35Monitor
- CVE-2026-54566Markdown Preview Enhanced: Remote Code Execution via VM Sandbox Escape in `.crossnote/config.js` and `.crossnote/parser.js`34Monitor
- CVE-2026-54702Markdown Preview Enhanced: Blind Command Dispatch via Unvalidated Webview Message Handler29Monitor
Published before and after this one in the same product
- Later →CVE-2026-54703Oct 14, 2026 · Markdown Preview Enhanced: Arbitrary File Write via updateMarkdown Command Without Path Validation23Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| shd101wyy vscode-markdown-preview-enhanced | 0.8.30 · description | Vendor (CNA) |
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.
- Published
- Fix recordedsame day
- TodayNov 8, 2026+25 d
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Credits
All researchersFinders, 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
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Availability
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- P
- Scope
- X
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
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 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
commentEl.innerHTML = comment.body;Fixed
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.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
- SSVC exploitation— → poc
- Exploit maturity— → none
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Show all references (6 more)Show less
- github.com/shd101wyy/crossnote/pull/444
- github.com/shd101wyy/crossnote/releases/tag/0.9.31
- github.com/shd101wyy/vscode-markdown-preview-enhanced/commit/8bc848b6cbb42b9f35a0f95f7c3bf29b8302970e
- github.com/shd101wyy/vscode-markdown-preview-enhanced/pull/2323
- github.com/shd101wyy/vscode-markdown-preview-enhanced/releases/tag/0.8.30
- github.com/shd101wyy/vscode-markdown-preview-enhanced/security/advisories/GHSA-mcwg-4j78-qwv3
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.