Secuno
ENNL
Book demo

CVE-2026-42589

Thecodingmachine Gotenberg command injection

9.8 CRITICALPublic exploitEPSS 3.67%
  1. Published14 May 2026

Description

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 3.1 breakdown

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

Affected products

Thecodingmachine Gotenberg< 8.31.0

Remediation

Fixed in
Thecodingmachine Gotenberg≥ 8.31.0

References

Related CVEs

Recent high-severity vulnerabilities sharing a weakness type.

CVE-2026-185298.7
IBM Maximo Application Suite - Location Service for Esri Component 9.2, 9.1, and 9.0 is…
CVE-2025-714299.8
GPT-SoVITS through 20250606v2pro contains an OS command injection vulnerability in…
CVE-2020-372798.1
easy-pdf-merge 0.1.0 through 0.2.6 contains an OS command injection vulnerability that…
CVE-2026-1093188.8
Grav Git Sync 1.0.2 through 3.4.12 contains a command injection vulnerability that…
CVE-2026-1088969.9
A vulnerability was found in Linksys E1700 1.0.0.4.003. This affects the function…
CVE-2026-1088959.9
A weakness has been identified in Linksys E1700 1.0.0.4.003. The affected element is…

Frequently asked

Is CVE-2026-42589 being actively exploited?

CVE-2026-42589 is not in the CISA KEV catalog. A public exploit reference exists, so treat it as exploitable. Its EPSS exploit probability is 3.67%.

How severe is CVE-2026-42589?

CVE-2026-42589 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated critical. EPSS estimates a 3.67% probability of exploitation.

Which products are affected by CVE-2026-42589?

Affected products include Thecodingmachine Gotenberg.

How do I fix CVE-2026-42589?

Upgrade affected software to a fixed version, for example Thecodingmachine Gotenberg 8.31.0 or later, then confirm no affected versions remain in your inventory.

How Secuno handles this

Secuno correlates vulnerabilities like CVE-2026-42589 against the real software inventory on every managed device, every day. Rather than a static severity, each match is scored in context: exploit availability, EPSS, the asset's exposure, and business criticality decide where it lands in the queue. If an affected version is present anywhere across your portfolio, it surfaces automatically with a prioritised remediation path.

See how prioritisation worksBook a demo

Get Patch this first every Monday

Five vulnerabilities that matter this week, ranked on real exploitation. Plain language, one email, no spam.

You can unsubscribe with one click from every issue. We handle your details as described in our privacy policy.

Data from the NVD, CISA KEV catalog and FIRST EPSS. CVSS 3.1 base score shown where available.