Improper input validation in Jgm Pandoc

CVE-2023-35936

Pandoc is a Haskell library for converting from one markup format to another, and a command-line tool that uses this library. Starting in version 1.13 and prior to version 3.1.4, Pandoc is susceptible to an arbitrary file write vulnerability, which can be triggered by providing a specially crafted image element in the input when generating files using the `--extract-media` option or outputting to PDF format. This vulnerability allows an attacker to create or overwrite arbitrary files on the system ,depending on the privileges of the process running pandoc. It only affects systems that pass untrusted user input to pandoc and allow pandoc to be used to produce a PDF or with the `--extract-media` option. The fix is to unescape the percent-encoding prior to checking that the resource is not above the working directory, and prior to extracting the extension. Some code for checking that the path is below the working directory was flawed in a similar way and has also been fixed. Note that the `--sandbox` option, which only affects IO done by readers and writers themselves, does not block this vulnerability. The vulnerability is patched in pandoc 3.1.4. As a workaround, audit the pandoc command and disallow PDF output and the `--extract-media` option.

Vulnerability class: Drupalgeddon 2 (CVE-2018-7600)

EPSS: 0.004 (29.4th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 6.1 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-35936?
CVE-2023-35936 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Jgm Pandoc, classified under Improper Input Validation. CVSS score: 6.1/10. Published 2023-07-05.
How severe is CVE-2023-35936?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.1 out of 10.
Is CVE-2023-35936 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.