Vulnerability in Katex

CVE-2024-28244

KaTeX is a JavaScript library for TeX math rendering on the web. KaTeX users who render untrusted mathematical expressions could encounter malicious input using `\def` or `\newcommand` that causes a near-infinite loop, despite setting `maxExpand` to avoid such loops. KaTeX supports an option named maxExpand which aims to prevent infinitely recursive macros from consuming all available memory and/or triggering a stack overflow error. Unfortunately, support for "Unicode (sub|super)script characters" allows an attacker to bypass this limit. Each sub/superscript group instantiated a separate Parser with its own limit on macro executions, without inheriting the current count of macro executions from its parent. This has been corrected in KaTeX v0.16.10.

EPSS: 0.022 (80.3th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 6.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

  • Katex — versions >= 0.15.4, < 0.16.10

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-28244?
CVE-2024-28244 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Katex, classified under Uncontrolled Recursion. CVSS score: 6.5/10. Published 2024-03-25.
How severe is CVE-2024-28244?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.5 out of 10.