VulnerabilityPublished 23 Aug 2026Updated 29 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-68508: hydra.utils.instantiate with untrusted config can lead to code execution

Affects dvcSource GCVE Database

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-68508· High 7.8

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High : upgrade to 3.67.1_10 soon.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 39% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 3.67.1_10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 21 Aug 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
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 29 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade dvc to 3.67.1_10.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Homebrewdvc`pkg:brew/dvc`Other threats	Affected <3.67.1_10	Fixed in 3.67.1_10

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

Description

## Summary `hydra.utils.instantiate()` resolves and calls Python objects from config. If an application passes untrusted config to `instantiate()`, an attacker who controls `_target_` and its arguments can cause arbitrary code execution in the consuming process. Hydra is not a network service. Exploitation requires a consuming application, library, or user workflow to load attacker-controlled config, CLI overrides, or model metadata and pass it to `hydra.utils.instantiate()`. ## Details Hydra's instantiate API is designed to construct objects and call functions from configuration. For example: ```yaml component: _target_: package.module.Class arg: value ``` When this config is passed to `hydra.utils.instantiate()`, Hydra resolves `_target_` and calls it with the provided arguments. This is intended for trusted application configuration. However, if untrusted input controls `_target_`, the config becomes a callable-selection mechanism. A malicious config can select a callable capable of executing code or commands and provide attacker-controlled arguments. This issue is the same general class of problem discussed by Unit 42 for downstream AI/ML libraries such as NVIDIA NeMo, where untrusted model metadata was passed into Hydra instantiate: https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/rce-vulnerabilities-in-ai-python-libraries/ Hydra 1.3.4 includes a blacklist for some dangerous `_target_` values. That blacklist is defense-in-depth and is not a complete security boundary. The blacklist is not present in the released `hydra-core` 1.3.3 package, so this issue should not be described as a bypass of a released 1.3.3 blacklist. ## Impact A successful attack can execute code in the process that calls `hydra.utils.instantiate()`. The impact is limited to the privileges and environment of that process. Potential impact includes: - Reading files, credentials, environment variables, or data accessible to the process - Modifying files, outputs, checkpoints, or application state writable by the process - Terminating or disrupting the process ## Affected Usage Applications and libraries are affected when they pass untrusted or semi-trusted config, model metadata, CLI overrides, or other externally controlled data to `hydra.utils.instantiate()` without constraining which targets may be instantiated. Trusted application-owned configuration is not affected in the same way. ## Remediation Hydra 1.3.4 hardens the existing behavior by adding a blacklist of obvious dangerous targets. It is a substantial security improvement, and users remaining on the 1.3 release line should upgrade to 1.3.4 or a newer version. The unreleased Hydra 1.4 development line uses an allowlist-based instantiation model that fully addresses this vulnerability class. The allowlist must come from trusted application code or another trusted channel, not from the untrusted config being instantiated. Applications that consume untrusted or semi-trusted config should not pass it directly to `hydra.utils.instantiate()`. They should validate `_target_` values against a trusted allowlist before instantiation.

References

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