CVE-2026-24516: droplet-agent · CVE-2026-24516 is a high-severity command injection
Affects droplet-agentSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High : upgrade to 1.3.3 soon.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 15:59 UTC
- EPSS
- 2.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 85% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 1.3.3
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade digitalocean/droplet-agent to 1.3.3.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
GitHubdigitalocean/droplet-agentpkg:github/digitalocean/droplet-agentOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
Organizations should immediately verify if their DigitalOcean droplets run the vulnerable Droplet Agent version (up to 1.3.2) and upgrade to a patched version once available. In the absence of an official patch, mitigating controls include restricting access to the metadata service endpoint (http://169.254.169.254) via firewall rules or network policies to prevent unauthorized metadata manipulation. Implement strict network segmentation to limit exposure of the SSH port and monitor for unusual TCP sequence number patterns that could trigger the exploit. Employ runtime security tools to detect anomalous command executions originating from the agent process. Additionally, audit and harden metadata service responses and consider disabling the troubleshooting actioner component if not required. Regularly review logs for suspicious activity related to metadata fetching and command execution. Coordinate with DigitalOcean support for guidance and updates on patches or workarounds.
Description
CVE-2026-24516 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in the DigitalOcean Droplet Agent up to version 1.3.2. The flaw exists in the troubleshooting actioner component, which executes commands from metadata responses without properly sanitizing the command content after validating artifact existence. An attacker able to control metadata responses can inject arbitrary OS commands executed with root privileges. The attack is triggered by sending TCP packets with specific sequence numbers to the SSH port, causing the agent to fetch malicious metadata from the internal metadata service endpoint (http://169.254.169.254/metadata/v1.json).
References
- github.com/digitalocean/droplet-agent/blob/main/internal/troubleshooting/actioner/actioner.go (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/digitalocean/droplet-agent/blob/main/internal/troubleshooting/command/exec.go (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/digitalocean/droplet-agent/blob/main/internal/troubleshooting/command/command.go (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/poxsky/CVE-2026-24516-DigitalOcean-RCE (opens in a new tab)