CVE-2026-42589
Gotenberg: Unauthenticated RCE via ExifTool Metadata Key Injection
- State
- Published
- Severity
- 9.8 Critical
- Published
- May 14, 2026
- Updated
- May 14, 2026
- Reserved
- Apr 29, 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.
Scores
| CVSS | Score | Vector | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 9.8 Critical | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H | GitHub_M |
Weaknesses
- CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
gotenberggotenberg |
|
References
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