# Remediation Handoff: CVE-2026-68749

## Summary

NVD: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerability in the CSS scrubber in rrrene html_sanitize_ex allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to exhaust server CPU via a long CSS declaration in sanitized HTML. NVD: The declaration regex in HtmlSanitizeEx.Scrubber.CSS.scrub/1 matches the property name with an unbounded greedy [-\w]+ followed by a mandatory :, so a long run of word characters not followed by a colon makes the engine give back one character at a time and... NVD: The work is quadratic in the length of the run, and no length cap is applied to the CSS handed to the scrubber.

## Why it matters

CVSS severity is HIGH with score 8.2. EPSS percentile is 0.36538. KEV status is not listed in KEV. Use this as a defensive priority handoff, not as an execution instruction.

## Affected context

* Vendor: rrrene
* Product: htmlsanitizeex
* Component: unknown
* Version / CPE / PURL: unknown

## Remediation context

* Recommended route: vendor_patch_or_mitigation
* Vendor/advisory reference: official_reference_present
* Patch status: requires_confirmation
* Fixed version: unknown
* References: https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-68749.html, https://github.com/rrrene/html_sanitize_ex/commit/4f4bd9eb254881462c0461fbab74b29188c2c133, https://github.com/rrrene/html_sanitize_ex/security/advisories/GHSA-4cx2-987x-rr2x, https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-68749

## Human checklist

* Confirm whether the listed product or package is present.
* Confirm affected version.
* Review vendor advisory or official source.
* Confirm patch, fixed version, mitigation, workaround, or monitor-only decision.
* Confirm exposure.
* Document remediation status.

## Safe AI / Codex handoff

* Goal: Prepare a defensive remediation plan for CVE-2026-68749 using only provided public-safe source context and any separate repo context supplied by the user.
* Allowed actions: summarize vendor guidance, prepare a defensive remediation plan, identify affected dependencies only when repo context is separately provided by the user, suggest tests and validation steps, document human verification questions
* Disallowed actions: generate offensive code, provide payloads, scan external targets, change production systems, merge or deploy changes, create GitHub issues or pull requests without explicit separate approval
* Acceptance criteria: Affected product or dependency presence is confirmed by a human., Affected version is confirmed or marked not applicable., Official advisory or source reference is reviewed., Patch, fixed version, mitigation, workaround, or monitor-only decision is documented., Validation steps are proposed without external scanning or production mutation.
* Human approval required: true

## Safety note

This handoff is for defensive triage and remediation planning only. It excludes offensive procedure, payload material, external target scan guidance, and auto-remediation.