CVE-2020-26284
Hugo can execute a binary from the current directory on Windows
Hugo is a fast and Flexible Static Site Generator built in Go. Hugo depends on Go's os/exec for certain features, e.g. for rendering of Pandoc documents if these binaries are found in the system %PATH% on Windows. In Hugo before version 0.79.1, if a malicious file with the same name (exe or bat) is found in the current working directory at the time of running hugo, the malicious command will be invoked instead of the system one. Windows users who run hugo inside untrusted Hugo sites are affected. Users should upgrade to Hugo v0.79.1. Other than avoiding untrusted Hugo sites, there is no workaround.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Hugo can execute a binary from the current directory on Windows
Hugo is a fast and Flexible Static Site Generator built in Go. Hugo depends on Go's os/exec for certain features, e.g. for rendering of Pandoc documents if these binaries are found in the system %PATH% on Windows. In Hugo before version 0.79.1, if a malicious file with the same name (exe or bat) is found in the current working directory at the time of running hugo, the malicious command will be invoked instead of the system one. Windows users who run hugo inside untrusted Hugo sites are affected. Users should upgrade to Hugo v0.79.1. Other than avoiding untrusted Hugo sites, there is no workaround.
- Record
CVE-2020-26284- CVSS 3.1
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-1294
Hugo is a fast and Flexible Static Site Generator built in Go. Hugo depends on Go's os/exec for certain features, e.g. for rendering of Pandoc documents if these binaries are found in the system %PATH% on Windows. In Hugo before version 0.79.1, if a malicious file with the same name (exe or bat) is found in the current working directory at the time of running hugo, the malicious command will be invoked instead of the system one. Windows users who run hugo inside untrusted Hugo sites are affected. Users should upgrade to Hugo v0.79.1. Other than avoiding untrusted Hugo sites, there is no workaround.
- Record
EUVD-2021-1294- CVSS 3.1
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-8j34-9876-pvfq
Hugo can execute a binary from the current directory on Windows
Impact
Hugo depends on Go's os/exec for certain features, e.g. for rendering of Pandoc documents if these binaries are found in the system %PATH% on Windows. However, if a malicious file with the same name (exe or bat) is found in the current working directory at the time of running hugo, the malicious command will be invoked instead of the system one.
Windows users who run hugo inside untrusted Hugo sites are affected.
Patches
Users should upgrade to Hugo v0.79.1.
- Record
GHSA-8j34-9876-pvfq- CVSS 3.1
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
Hugo is a fast and Flexible Static Site Generator built in Go. Hugo depends on Go's os/exec for certain features, e.g. for rendering of Pandoc documents if these binaries are found in the system %PATH% on Windows. In Hugo before version 0.79.1, if a malicious file with the same name (exe or bat) is found in the current working directory at the time of running hugo, the malicious command will be invoked instead of the system one. Windows users who run hugo inside untrusted Hugo sites are affected. Users should upgrade to Hugo v0.79.1. Other than avoiding untrusted Hugo sites, there is no workaround.
- Record
CVE-2020-26284- CVSS 3.1
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 8.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 8.5 High
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
Hugo is a fast and Flexible Static Site Generator built in Go. Hugo depends on Go's os/exec for certain features, e.g. for rendering of Pandoc documents if these binaries are found in the system %PATH% on Windows. In Hugo before version 0.79.1, if a malicious file with the same name (exe or bat) is found in the current working directory at the time of running hugo, the malicious command will be invoked instead of the system one. Windows users who run hugo inside untrusted Hugo sites are affected. Users should upgrade to Hugo v0.79.1. Other than avoiding untrusted Hugo sites, there is no workaround.
- Record
CVE-2020-26284- CVSS 3.1
- 8.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2020-26284
Hugo is a fast and Flexible Static Site Generator built in Go. Hugo depends on Go's os/exec for certain features, e.g. for rendering of Pandoc documents if these binaries are found in the system %PATH% on Windows. In Hugo before version 0.79.1, if a malicious file with the same name (exe or bat) is found in the current working directory at the time of running hugo, the malicious command will be invoked instead of the system one. Windows users who run hugo inside untrusted Hugo sites are affected. Users should upgrade to Hugo v0.79.1. Other than avoiding untrusted Hugo sites, there is no workaround.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2020-26284- CVSS 3.1
- 8.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-8j34-9876-pvfq
Hugo can execute a binary from the current directory on Windows
Impact
Hugo depends on Go's os/exec for certain features, e.g. for rendering of Pandoc documents if these binaries are found in the system %PATH% on Windows. However, if a malicious file with the same name (exe or bat) is found in the current working directory at the time of running hugo, the malicious command will be invoked instead of the system one.
Windows users who run hugo inside untrusted Hugo sites are affected.
Patches
Users should upgrade to Hugo v0.79.1.
- Record
GHSA-8j34-9876-pvfq- CVSS 3.1
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
github.com/gohugoio/hugoGo |
before 0.79.1 | 0.79.1 |
hugoDebian:12 |
before 0.79.1-1 | 0.79.1-1 |
hugoDebian:13 |
before 0.79.1-1 | 0.79.1-1 |
hugoDebian:14 |
before 0.79.1-1 | 0.79.1-1 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-26284 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.7) in Gohugo Hugo, published December 21, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.47%, the 73rd percentile. Fixed in github.com/gohugoio/hugo 0.79.1.