CVE Intelligence
Medium Cross-site scripting

CVE-2026-54743 — Lemmy: Stored XSS via markdown image alt-text in lemmy-ui html5-embed

Lemmy is a link aggregator and forum for the fediverse. Prior to lemmy-ui 0.19.19-beta.1, LemmyNet/lemmy-ui renders Markdown in src/shared/markdown.ts for post bodies, comment bodies, private messages, and community and site sidebars through mdToHtml, which returns a raw __html object that Inferno injects without a sanitizer pass. setupMarkdown configures html as false but registers markdown-it-html5-embed@1.0.0 with useImageSyntax enabled, so an image targeting video media becomes a video element whose fallback incorporates the image alt text through unescaped string replacement. The html setting does not apply to plugin-generated output, allowing crafted alt text to reach the DOM as live HTML in contexts that do not use mdToHtmlNoImages. An approved member or a remote federated instance can store such content, and a viewer who renders it may execute JavaScript in the lemmy-ui origin, exposing the viewer's session and authenticated actions. The advisory notes that Content Security Policy prevents the described exploit in production, but also states that the tested default self-hosted deployment serves no Content-Security-Policy. This issue is fixed in lemmy-ui version 0.19.19-beta.1.

Published Aug 19, 2026 · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: GitHub_M

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.5% (30-day exploitation probability)+7
  • Technical severity (medium)+3
  • CISA SSVC: exploitation "poc"+5

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.55%
ahead of 45% of scored CVEs · Oct 15, 2026
Affects
LemmyNet
Lemmy
CVSS base
6.4
Medium · 2 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Proof of concept
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (LemmyNet Lemmy).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  4. Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
  5. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (cross-site scripting), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
LemmyNet Lemmy version < 0.19.19-beta.1 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Attack requirements
None
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Passive
Scope
X
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
None
Integrity (vulnerable system)
None
Availability (vulnerable system)
None
Confidentiality (subsequent)
High
Integrity (subsequent)
High
Availability (subsequent)
None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
6.4 CVSS 4.0 Medium — — security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
6.4 CVSS 4.0 Medium — — GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/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 (score shown at the top: security-advisories@github.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-79 · Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

Other CVEs with this weakness →

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Monitor CSP violation reports and script payloads in reflected parameters.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSapplication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · lemmynet/lemmy
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 15, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 6.4
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Deferred
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Aug 19, 2026 · GitHub_M

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

4 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

LemmyNet
every CVE for this vendor
Cross-site scripting
same class
CWE-79
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-54738 Lemmy: Rate limit bypass via X-Forwarded-For header spoofing in actix-web ConnectionInfo Aug 19, 2026
  • CVE-2026-54739 Lemmy: Login Endpoint User Enumeration via HTTP Response Code Differential Aug 19, 2026
  • CVE-2026-54740 Lemmy: Lower-ranked federated moderator can remove higher-ranked moderators Aug 19, 2026
  • CVE-2026-54741 Lemmy: Blocked users can edit private messages sent before the block Aug 19, 2026
  • CVE-2026-54742 Lemmy: `CollectionAdd::Featured` does not check the post is in the community Aug 19, 2026
  • CVE-2026-42181 Lemmy: SSRF and internal image disclosure in post link metadata via unvalidated og:image May 8, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-54743 is "Lemmy: Stored XSS via markdown image alt-text in lemmy-ui html5-embed", rated Medium. It affects Lemmy (LemmyNet); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 6.4 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.55% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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