Obsidian Desktop < 1.14.0 RCE via MathJax Safe Filter Bypass
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-104078 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | VulnCheck |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-10-08 17:17:11 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-10-12 21:17:08 UTC |
| Description | Obsidian Desktop before 1.14.0 contains a filter bypass vulnerability in the bundled MathJax 3.2.2 Safe component that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by embedding a crafted \href value with a TAB byte in the URL scheme, causing filterURL to produce an empty protocol that bypasses the configured safeProtocols restrictions. Attackers can craft a note containing a malicious MathJax formula that renders as a javascript: URL anchor, which when clicked by the victim in Live Preview executes in the Node-integration-enabled vault renderer via require('child_process'), achieving arbitrary operating system command execution as the desktop user. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 8.4 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/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
EPSS: 0.002940000 probability, percentile 0.202070000 (date 2026-10-10)
Problem Types: CWE-79 | CWE-1188 | CWE-79 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') | CWE-1188 Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | [email protected] | Secondary | 8.4 | HIGH | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 8.4 | HIGH | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 7.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 7.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowAttack Requirements
NonePrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
ActiveConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighSub Conf.
NoneSub Integrity
NoneSub Availability
NoneCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/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
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
RequiredScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Obsidian | Obsidian Desktop | affected 1.14.0 semver | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| obsidian.md/changelog/2026-10-05-desktop-v1.14.4 | [email protected] | obsidian.md | |
| www.vulncheck.com/advisories/obsidian-desktop-rce-via-mathjax-safe-filter-bypass | [email protected] | www.vulncheck.com | |
| codeant.ai/security-research/from-markdown-to-a-shell-obsidian-desktop-rce | [email protected] | codeant.ai | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: CodeAnt AI Security Research Team (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.