Vulnerability · Published Jul 8, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-59922Mistune plugins/formatting: quadratic-time parsing on long runs of `~~x~~`, `==x==`, and `^^x^^` markers (strikethrough / mark / insert)
High 7.5
In plain English
A high-severity regular-expression denial of service in mistune from lepture. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.6% (higher than 51% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
Mistune is a Python Markdown parser with renderers and plugins. Prior to 3.3.0, a run of closed tilde, equals-sign, or caret marker pairs around a character causes quadratic work in src/mistune/plugins/formatting.py when the strikethrough, mark, or insert plugin scans for matching markers from each possible start position, allowing denial of service through CPU exhaustion. This issue is fixed in version 3.3.0.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:13 | mistune | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-59922 |
| Debian:14 | mistune | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-59922 |
| PyPI | mistune | 3.3.0 | GHSA-c8j7-8cv4-2xmq |
| PyPI | mistune | 3.3.0 | PYSEC-2026-2210 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | mistune | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-59922 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | mistune | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-59922 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | mistune | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-59922 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | mistune | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-59922 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | mistune | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-59922 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-407, CWE-1333 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
References
- https://github.com/lepture/mistune/security/advisories/GHSA-c8j7-8cv4-2xmq x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/lepture/mistune/commit/96d0f57f8fe9eeb06bb4cff521962a27d7c402e7 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/lepture/mistune/releases/tag/v3.3.0 x_refsource_MISC