CVE-2024-53920: emacs Code Injection (CVSS 7.8)

Description

In elisp-mode.el in GNU Emacs before 30.1, a user who chooses to invoke elisp-completion-at-point (for code completion) on untrusted Emacs Lisp source code can trigger unsafe Lisp macro expansion that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code. (This unsafe expansion also occurs if a user chooses to enable on-the-fly diagnosis that byte compiles untrusted Emacs Lisp source code.)

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.8

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-94 CWE-94

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
gnu	emacs	< 30.1

References

Other References

https://eshelyaron.com/posts/2024-11-27-emacs-aritrary-code-execution-and-how-to-avoid-it.html https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/tag/?h=emacs-30.0.92 https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/tree/ChangeLog.4 https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/tree/etc/NEWS?h=emacs-30.1 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42256409 https://yhetil.org/emacs/CAFXAjY5f4YfHAtZur1RAqH34UbYU56_t6t2Er0YEh1Sb7-W=hg@mail.gmail.com/ https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/02/msg00033.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-53920? +

In elisp-mode.el in GNU Emacs before 30.1, a user who chooses to invoke elisp-completion-at-point (for code completion) on untrusted Emacs Lisp source code can trigger unsafe Lisp macro expansion that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code. (This unsafe expansion also occurs if a user chooses to enable on-the-fly diagnosis that byte compiles untrusted Emacs Lisp source code.) It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2024-53920? +

CVE-2024-53920 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching.

What products are affected by CVE-2024-53920? +

CVE-2024-53920 affects products from gnu, specifically: emacs. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2024-53920? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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