GHSA-JM8C-9F3J-4378
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-04-18 01:11 – Updated: 2026-04-18 01:11An unauthenticated attacker can send arbitrary HTML-rendered emails from a pretalx instance's configured sender address by embedding malformed HTML or markdown link syntax in a user-controlled template placeholder such as the account display name. The most direct vector is the password-reset flow: the attacker registers an account with a malicious name, enters the victim's email address, and triggers a password reset. The resulting email is delivered from the event's legitimate sender address and passes SPF/DKIM/DMARC validation, making it a ready-made phishing vector.
The same class of bug affects every mail template that interpolates a user-controlled placeholder (speaker name, proposal title, biography, question answers, etc.), including organiser-triggered emails such as acceptance/rejection notifications.
Credits
Thanks go to Mark Fijneman for finding and reporting a subset of this issue, which alerted us to the wider vulnerability.
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "PyPI",
"name": "pretalx"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "2026.1.0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-116",
"CWE-79"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-04-18T01:11:19Z",
"nvd_published_at": null,
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "An unauthenticated attacker can send arbitrary HTML-rendered emails from a pretalx instance\u0027s configured sender address by embedding malformed HTML or markdown link syntax in a user-controlled template placeholder such as the account display name. The most direct vector is the password-reset flow: the attacker registers an account with a malicious name, enters the victim\u0027s email address, and triggers a password reset. The resulting email is delivered from the event\u0027s legitimate sender address and passes SPF/DKIM/DMARC validation, making it a ready-made phishing vector.\n\nThe same class of bug affects every mail template that interpolates a user-controlled placeholder (speaker name, proposal title, biography, question answers, etc.), including organiser-triggered emails such as acceptance/rejection notifications.\n\n### Credits\n\nThanks go to Mark Fijneman for finding and reporting a subset of this issue, which alerted us to the wider vulnerability.",
"id": "GHSA-jm8c-9f3j-4378",
"modified": "2026-04-18T01:11:19Z",
"published": "2026-04-18T01:11:19Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/pretalx/pretalx/security/advisories/GHSA-jm8c-9f3j-4378"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/pretalx/pretalx"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "pretalx mail templates vulnerable to email injection via unescaped user-controlled placeholders"
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.