CVE-2026-42851: CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') in kovidgoyal kitty
Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. In versions prior to 0.47.0, a program able to write bytes to a kitty terminal — a remote SSH peer, a downloaded file viewed with `cat`, a log line, an email body rendered in `less`, an issue body in a TUI, etc. — can cause kitty to execute attacker-supplied Python inside the running kitty process, with the user's full privileges. There is no approval prompt, no remote-control permission requirement, no shell-integration interaction, no clipboard touch, and no editor interaction. Version 0.47.0 fixes the issue.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
CVE-2026-42851 is a code injection vulnerability (CWE-94) in the kitty terminal prior to version 0.47.0. An attacker who can write bytes to a kitty terminal can cause the terminal to execute attacker-supplied Python code with the user's privileges. This occurs without any user approval prompts or additional permission requirements, making it a serious security risk. The vulnerability is addressed by updating to kitty version 0.47.0.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows arbitrary Python code execution in the context of the kitty terminal process with full user privileges, potentially leading to complete compromise of the user's environment. The vulnerability affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade kitty to version 0.47.0 or later, which fixes this vulnerability. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor's versioning information. No additional mitigation is required once the update is applied.
CVE-2026-42851: CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') in kovidgoyal kitty
Description
Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. In versions prior to 0.47.0, a program able to write bytes to a kitty terminal — a remote SSH peer, a downloaded file viewed with `cat`, a log line, an email body rendered in `less`, an issue body in a TUI, etc. — can cause kitty to execute attacker-supplied Python inside the running kitty process, with the user's full privileges. There is no approval prompt, no remote-control permission requirement, no shell-integration interaction, no clipboard touch, and no editor interaction. Version 0.47.0 fixes the issue.
CVSS v3.1
Score 7.8high
Affected software
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AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-42851 is a code injection vulnerability (CWE-94) in the kitty terminal prior to version 0.47.0. An attacker who can write bytes to a kitty terminal can cause the terminal to execute attacker-supplied Python code with the user's privileges. This occurs without any user approval prompts or additional permission requirements, making it a serious security risk. The vulnerability is addressed by updating to kitty version 0.47.0.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows arbitrary Python code execution in the context of the kitty terminal process with full user privileges, potentially leading to complete compromise of the user's environment. The vulnerability affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade kitty to version 0.47.0 or later, which fixes this vulnerability. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor's versioning information. No additional mitigation is required once the update is applied.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- GitHub_M
- Date Reserved
- 2026-04-30T16:44:48.378Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a2c6778e617e2d834bac51e
Added to database: 06/12/2026, 20:09:28 UTC
Last enriched: 06/19/2026, 22:11:24 UTC
Last updated: 07/31/2026, 19:22:58 UTC
Views: 87
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