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CVE Record

CVE-2022-40896: A ReDoS issue was discovered in pygments/lexers/smithy.py in pygments through 2.15.0 via SmithyLexer.

A ReDoS issue was discovered in pygments/lexers/smithy.py in pygments through 2.15.0 via SmithyLexer.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

Pygments, a Python syntax-highlighting library, had a regular-expression denial-of-service issue in its Smithy lexer through version 2.15.0. If an exposed service highlights untrusted Smithy input, crafted content could consume excessive processing time and reduce availability.

Executive priority

Treat this as an availability risk, not a confirmed data breach issue. Prioritize remediation where Pygments processes untrusted input in customer-facing or shared services; otherwise handle through normal dependency maintenance.

Technical view

CVE-2022-40896 is a ReDoS flaw in pygments/lexers/smithy.py via SmithyLexer. The provided record identifies Pygments through 2.15.0 as affected, but provides no CVSS score, CWE, exploit details, or definitive upstream fixed version in the bundle.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most plausible in applications, documentation systems, CI tooling, or web services that use Pygments to highlight user-supplied Smithy source or snippets. Internal-only developer tooling is lower business risk unless reachable by untrusted users.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Risk depends on whether attackers can submit Smithy content to a process using the vulnerable lexer and whether that process lacks resource limits.

Researcher notes

The evidence is sparse: no CVSS vector, CWE, affected CPEs, or exploit status are provided. The key technical claim is limited to ReDoS in SmithyLexer through Pygments 2.15.0, with PyUp and Fedora references supporting dependency review.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory Pygments versions in applications, containers, CI images, and distro packages.
  • Check PyPI, Pygments, and operating-system vendor advisories for fixed package versions.
  • Upgrade affected Pygments installations according to vendor guidance.
  • Limit or reject untrusted Smithy highlighting until patched.
  • Apply CPU, request-size, and execution-time limits around syntax-highlighting services.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether installed Pygments versions are 2.15.0 or earlier.
  • Identify code paths that invoke SmithyLexer or auto-detect Smithy content.
  • Review public routes or APIs that accept text for highlighting.
  • Verify distro package status against the referenced Fedora advisories where applicable.
  • Check application logs for highlighting-related CPU spikes or timeouts.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
7

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
8Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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