title: Discourse vulnerable to bypass of post max_length using HTML comments
description: Discourse is an option source discussion platform. Prior to version 2.8.14 on the `stable` branch and version 2.9.0.beta16 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, users can create posts with raw body longer than the `max_length` site setting by including html comments that are not counted toward the character limit. This issue is patched in versions 2.8.14 and 2.9.0.beta16. There are no known workarounds.
problem types: CWE-20 Improper Input Validation
affected:
{
vendor: discourse
product: discourse
versions:
version: 2.8.14, status: affected, lessThan: 2.8.14, versionType: custom
version: 2.9.0.beta0, status: affected, lessThanOrEqual: 2.9.0.beta0, versionType: custom
version: 2.9.0.beta16, status: affected, lessThan: 2.9.0.beta16, versionType: custom
}
metrics:
cvssV3_1: [
version: 3.1
vectorString: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
attackVector: NETWORK
attackComplexity: LOW
privilegesRequired: LOW
userInteraction: REQUIRED
scope: UNCHANGED
confidentialityImpact: NONE
integrityImpact: NONE
availabilityImpact: HIGH
baseScore: 5.7
baseSeverity: MEDIUM
]