CVE-2026-53428
Unbounded memory allocation in highlight_lines range expansion in mdex
Description
Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value vulnerability in leandrocp mdex allows an unauthenticated attacker to cause a denial of service through unbounded memory allocation. comrak_nif::lumis_adapter::LumisAdapter::parse_highlight_lines in native/comrak_nif/src/lumis_adapter.rs eagerly expands a user-controlled inclusive line range from a fenced code block's highlight_lines decorator into a Vec<usize>, pushing one element per integer in the range with no upper bound on the range size. An attacker who can supply Markdown that an application renders with MDEx.to_html/2 (for example a comment, chat message, or wiki page) can embed a code block whose info string is rust highlight_lines="1-100000000", forcing the native adapter to allocate roughly 8 bytes per line in the range. A payload that differs by only a few bytes can therefore allocate hundreds of megabytes, and a sufficiently large range (for example 1-2000000000) exhausts host memory and aborts the BEAM, denying service to every user of the rendering process. The per-line write loop additionally tests membership with a linear scan over the same vector, degrading rendering to a quadratic cost even for ranges that do not immediately exhaust memory. The vulnerable native code originally shipped inside mdex (in native/comrak_nif/src/lumis_adapter.rs) and was later extracted into the separate mdex_native package (native/mdex_native_nif/src/lumis_adapter.rs), where it remains unpatched. This issue affects mdex from 0.11.0 before 0.12.3, and mdex_native from 0.1.0 before 0.2.3.
INFO
Published Date :
June 29, 2026, 7:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
June 29, 2026, 8:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 4.0 | MEDIUM | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | MEDIUM | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db |
Solution
- Update mdex to version 0.12.3 or later.
- Update mdex_native to version 0.2.3 or later.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-53428.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-53428 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-53428
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-53428 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-53428 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jun. 29, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-53428', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-06-29T19:17:11.005816Z'} -
New CVE Received by 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
Jun. 29, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'cpes': ['cpe:2.3:a:leandrocp:mdex:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*'], 'repo': 'https://github.com/leandrocp/mdex', 'vendor': 'leandrocp', 'modules': ["'Elixir.MDEx'", 'comrak_nif'], 'product': 'mdex', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0.11.0', 'lessThan': '0.12.3', 'versionType': 'semver'}], 'packageURL': 'pkg:hex/mdex', 'packageName': 'mdex', 'programFiles': ['native/comrak_nif/src/lumis_adapter.rs'], 'collectionURL': 'https://repo.hex.pm', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected', 'programRoutines': [{'name': 'comrak_nif::lumis_adapter::LumisAdapter::parse_highlight_lines'}, {'name': "'Elixir.MDEx':to_html/2"}]}, {'cpes': ['cpe:2.3:a:leandrocp:mdex:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*'], 'repo': 'https://github.com/leandrocp/mdex', 'vendor': 'leandrocp', 'modules': ["'Elixir.MDEx'", 'comrak_nif'], 'product': 'mdex', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': 'a8407611715d1ead35fbcba79c72cef1b7df387b', 'lessThan': '6ed94d905f97af188323f042698ae841c02293b4', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'packageURL': 'pkg:github/leandrocp/mdex', 'packageName': 'leandrocp/mdex', 'programFiles': ['native/comrak_nif/src/lumis_adapter.rs'], 'collectionURL': 'https://github.com', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected', 'programRoutines': [{'name': 'comrak_nif::lumis_adapter::LumisAdapter::parse_highlight_lines'}, {'name': "'Elixir.MDEx':to_html/2"}]}, {'cpes': ['cpe:2.3:a:leandrocp:mdex_native:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*'], 'repo': 'https://github.com/leandrocp/mdex_native', 'vendor': 'leandrocp', 'modules': ["'Elixir.MDExNative.Comrak'", 'mdex_native_nif'], 'product': 'mdex_native', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0.1.0', 'lessThan': '0.2.3', 'versionType': 'semver'}], 'packageURL': 'pkg:hex/mdex_native', 'packageName': 'mdex_native', 'programFiles': ['native/mdex_native_nif/src/lumis_adapter.rs'], 'collectionURL': 'https://repo.hex.pm', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected', 'programRoutines': [{'name': 'mdex_native_nif::lumis_adapter::LumisAdapter::parse_highlight_lines'}, {'name': "'Elixir.MDExNative.Native':document_to_html_with_options/2"}, {'name': "'Elixir.MDExNative.Comrak':document_to_html/2"}]}, {'cpes': ['cpe:2.3:a:leandrocp:mdex_native:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*'], 'repo': 'https://github.com/leandrocp/mdex_native', 'vendor': 'leandrocp', 'modules': ["'Elixir.MDExNative.Comrak'", 'mdex_native_nif'], 'product': 'mdex_native', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '956528c5e31746253347029e810a969ab916fd27', 'lessThan': '798a363b4339f6f7162ec8437c4c9f9b5ae6fbf3', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'packageURL': 'pkg:github/leandrocp/mdex_native', 'packageName': 'leandrocp/mdex_native', 'programFiles': ['native/mdex_native_nif/src/lumis_adapter.rs'], 'collectionURL': 'https://github.com', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected', 'programRoutines': [{'name': 'mdex_native_nif::lumis_adapter::LumisAdapter::parse_highlight_lines'}, {'name': "'Elixir.MDExNative.Native':document_to_html_with_options/2"}, {'name': "'Elixir.MDExNative.Comrak':document_to_html/2"}]}] Added Description Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value vulnerability in leandrocp mdex allows an unauthenticated attacker to cause a denial of service through unbounded memory allocation. comrak_nif::lumis_adapter::LumisAdapter::parse_highlight_lines in native/comrak_nif/src/lumis_adapter.rs eagerly expands a user-controlled inclusive line range from a fenced code block's highlight_lines decorator into a Vec<usize>, pushing one element per integer in the range with no upper bound on the range size. An attacker who can supply Markdown that an application renders with MDEx.to_html/2 (for example a comment, chat message, or wiki page) can embed a code block whose info string is rust highlight_lines="1-100000000", forcing the native adapter to allocate roughly 8 bytes per line in the range. A payload that differs by only a few bytes can therefore allocate hundreds of megabytes, and a sufficiently large range (for example 1-2000000000) exhausts host memory and aborts the BEAM, denying service to every user of the rendering process. The per-line write loop additionally tests membership with a linear scan over the same vector, degrading rendering to a quadratic cost even for ranges that do not immediately exhaust memory. The vulnerable native code originally shipped inside mdex (in native/comrak_nif/src/lumis_adapter.rs) and was later extracted into the separate mdex_native package (native/mdex_native_nif/src/lumis_adapter.rs), where it remains unpatched. This issue affects mdex from 0.11.0 before 0.12.3, and mdex_native from 0.1.0 before 0.2.3. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H/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 Added CWE CWE-789 Added Reference https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-53428.html Added Reference https://github.com/leandrocp/mdex_native/commit/798a363b4339f6f7162ec8437c4c9f9b5ae6fbf3 Added Reference https://github.com/leandrocp/mdex_native/security/advisories/GHSA-j93q-9cvj-rxfm Added Reference https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-53428