CVE-2022-25863 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in gatsby-plugin-mdx. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2022-25863 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
gatsby-plugin-mdxnpmDescription
The package gatsby-plugin-mdx before 2.14.1, from 3.0.0 and before 3.15.2 are vulnerable to Deserialization of Untrusted Data when passing input through to the gray-matter package, due to its default configurations that are missing input sanitization. Exploiting this vulnerability is possible when passing input in both webpack (MDX files in src/pages or MDX file imported as a component in frontend / React code) and data mode (querying MDX nodes via GraphQL). Workaround: If an older version of gatsby-plugin-mdx must be used, input passed into the plugin should be sanitized ahead of processing.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | gatsby-plugin-mdx | all versions | 2.14.1 |
| 📦npm | gatsby-plugin-mdx | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 3.15.2 | 3.15.2 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for gatsby-plugin-mdx. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update gatsby-plugin-mdx to 2.14.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-25863 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2022-25863 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2022-25863. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-25863 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2022-25863 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.