CVE-2026-86431: commonmark before 2.9.1 XSS via AttributesExtension form feed bypass
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: 0.38% (FIRST EPSS).
- 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.
- According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
- Fixed version: thephpleague commonmark 2.9.1.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to thephpleague commonmark 2.9.1 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
league/commonmark (thephpleague/commonmark) versions >= 2.7.0 and < 2.9.1 contain a cross-site scripting vulnerability in the AttributesExtension. Prefixing an attribute name with a single U+000C form feed byte (e.g. {\x0Conclick="alert(1)"}) bypasses the AttributesHelper::filterAttributes() 'on*' event-handler filter because PHP's trim() does not strip U+000C, causing the attribute to be written verbatim into the output where browsers parse it as a genuine event handler. The same prefix also defeats the allow_unsafe_links check, allowing javascript: URIs through href/src attributes even when allow_unsafe_links is false. Exploitation requires processing untrusted Markdown with the AttributesExtension enabled; the injected script executes when the rendered HTML is viewed. Fixed in 2.9.1.
- Published
- Sep 7, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 8, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.3% · 33th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-79
Report tools
Action score
27
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 27 / 40 · 6.9 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.3%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · VulnCheck
- 6.9
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/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.
Limit the impact of XSSCheck security headers
Is your version affected? Check itNoroxi 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.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| thephpleague | commonmark | cpe:2.3:a:thephpleague:commonmark |
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 (VulnCheck). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
thephpleague commonmark
- 2.9.1not affected
- 2.7.0 and later · before 2.9.1affected · semver
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- thephpleague commonmark2.7.0 and later · before 2.9.1
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | php-league-commonmark | from 0 | — |
| Debian:14 | php-league-commonmark | before 2.10.0-1 | 2.10.0-1 |
| Packagist | league/commonmark | from 2.7.0 · before 2.9.1 | 2.9.1 |
Same product
thephpleague: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2026-105830league/commonmark 2.0.0 before 2.10.2 Quadratic DoS via TableStartParser34Monitor
- CVE-2024-58382league/commonmark before 2.6.0 Denial of Service via Quadratic Complexity34Monitor
- CVE-2026-86435commonmark 1.5.0 before 2.8.4 Denial of Service via Footnote34Monitor
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2026-86429Sep 7, 2026 · commonmark before 2.9.1 Denial of Service via SmartPunct and Attributes34Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2026-86430Sep 7, 2026 · league/commonmark before 2.9.1 Denial of Service via parsing34Monitor
- Later →CVE-2026-86432Sep 7, 2026 · commonmark 2.0.0 before 2.8.4 Denial of Service via XML27Monitor
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 |
|---|---|---|
| thephpleague commonmark | 2.9.1 | Vendor (CNA) |
| debian:php-league-commonmark | 2.10.0-1 · Debian:14 | Package registry (OSV) |
| Packagist:league/commonmark | 2.9.1 | Package 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.
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.
- StarPlatinureporter
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
- CVE-2026-33347167 days apartleague/commonmark has an embed extension allowed_domains bypass25Monitor
- CVE-2025-46734490 days apartleague/commonmark Cross-site Scripting vulnerability in Attributes extension25Monitor
- CVE-2026-7147832 days apartleague/commonmark: AttributesExtension href/src unsafe-link filter bypass via embedded control bytes24Monitor
- CVE-2026-30838184 days apartleague/commonmark: DisallowedRawHtml extension bypass via whitespace in HTML tag names20Monitor
Not on record for this CVE: public bounty 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
- Integrity
- Availability
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- X
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/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 (1)
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Show all references (1 more)Show less
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.