Search/CVE-2026-42589
● CVE — Critical

CVE-2026-42589

VendorthecodingmachineProductgotenbergDiscoveredMay 14, 2026UpdatedMay 18, 2026

Gotenberg is a Docker-powered stateless API for PDF files. Prior to 8.31.0, Gotenberg's /forms/pdfengines/metadata/write HTTP endpoint accepts a JSON metadata object and passes its keys directly to ExifTool via the go-exiftool library. No validation is performed on key characters. A \n embedded in a JSON key splits the ExifTool stdin stream into a new argument line, allowing an attacker to inject arbitrary ExifTool flags — including -if, which evaluates Perl expressions. This achieves unauthenticated OS command execution in a single HTTP request. The response is HTTP 200 with a valid PDF, making the attack transparent to basic monitoring. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.31.0.

CVSS v3.1
9.8 CRITICAL
EPSS
3.01%
probability of exploitation in 30 days
CISA KEV
Not listed
no confirmed exploitation reported
News coverage
1
sources referencing this CVE
Related IOCs
seen in the same coverage
EPSS Trend
Aug 16, 2026 → Oct 26, 2026
● 0.00pp
3.01% → 3.01% over 3 tracked changes
CVSS v3.1 Detail
Attack VectorNETWORK
Attack ComplexityLOW
Privileges RequiredNONE
User InteractionNONE
ScopeUNCHANGED
ConfidentialityHIGH
IntegrityHIGH
AvailabilityHIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Connections
6 relationships
Timeline
disclosure → media coverage
May 14, 2026
Disclosure — published as a CVE record. · last revised by NVD May 18, 2026
Oct 29, 2026
thehackernews.com reports: ThreatsDay: Critical Firewall Flaws, Banking Trojans Rented, Weaponized PDF, Token Theft + 26 More Stories