CVE-2026-42589: gotenberg · OS Command Injection
Affects gotenbergSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · public detection template (Nuclei) · CVSS 9.8 Critical : upgrade to 8.31.0 as a priority.
Data as of 11 Nov 2026, 23:06 UTC
Thin evidence
One scorer or none| CNA (GitHub_M) | CVSS 3.1 | 9.8 |
|---|
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 8.31.0
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 14 May 2026
Detectable: evidence found.
Weaponized: 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 11 Nov 2026.
What to do
Upgrade gotenberg to 8.31.0.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| gotenberg gotenberg | Affected
| Fixed in
|
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.