CVE-2026-102608 in ZoneMinder
Summary
by MITRE • 10/16/2026
ZoneMinder is a free, open source closed-circuit television software application. Prior to 1.38.3, downloadEvents() manually wraps a monitor Name value in single quotes instead of using escapeshellarg() before placing it in shell commands when a user with monitor-create or monitor-edit permission stores a monitor Name containing shell metacharacters and a user with Events View permission exports that monitor's events. In this attack mechanism, the stored monitor Name reaches both the ffmpeg concatenation command and the tar or zip archive command and breaks out of manual quoting. Arbitrary commands execute as the web server user. This issue is fixed in version 1.38.3.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/16/2026
ZoneMinder is a widely deployed open-source closed-circuit television software application used for video surveillance and monitoring. The vulnerability identified involves a critical command injection flaw within the downloadEvents function, which affects versions prior to 1.38.3. This security issue stems from improper handling of user-supplied input during the export process of recorded events associated with specific monitors. Specifically, when an administrator or user possessing monitor-create or monitor-edit permissions assigns a name to a camera or monitoring zone that includes shell metacharacters, this malicious payload is stored in the system's configuration database without adequate sanitization. The flaw lies in the application's attempt to manually wrap the monitor Name value in single quotes before passing it to underlying operating system commands, rather than utilizing robust input validation functions such as escapeshellarg(). This manual quoting mechanism fails to account for complex injection techniques that can break out of simple quote delimiters, thereby allowing an attacker to inject arbitrary shell commands.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to the specific workflow required to trigger it and the privileges under which the code executes. An attack requires a two-step process involving multiple user roles within the ZoneMinder environment. First, a privileged user with monitor-edit capabilities must store a maliciously crafted monitor name containing shell metacharacters such as semicolons, pipes, or backticks. Second, an unprivileged user who only has Events View permission can trigger the exploitation by exporting events for that specific compromised monitor. When this export action is initiated, ZoneMinder constructs system commands to process video data using ffmpeg and subsequently archive the resulting files using tar or zip utilities. Because the malicious name breaks out of the manual single-quote wrapping, it becomes part of the command line executed by the web server user account. This results in arbitrary code execution with the same privileges as the web server process, which typically runs under a low-privilege system user but may have access to sensitive configuration files, database credentials, or network resources depending on the deployment architecture.
From a technical classification perspective, this vulnerability is categorized under CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command, commonly known as Operating System Command Injection. The root cause is identified as CWE-20 Incorrect Input Validation, where the application relies on fragile string manipulation instead of parameterized commands or safe escaping libraries to handle external input. In terms of offensive security frameworks, this attack vector aligns with MITRE ATT&CK technique T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter, specifically sub-techniques involving shell scripts like sh or bash. The exploitation path demonstrates a classic stored cross-site scripting variant that escalates into remote code execution by leveraging the server-side processing of user-controlled data within system-level utilities. This highlights the danger of assuming that input validation at the application layer is sufficient without considering how that data propagates through subsequent command-line interfaces and external binaries like ffmpeg, tar, or zip.
To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations running ZoneMinder must immediately upgrade to version 1.38.3 or later, where the developers have implemented proper escaping mechanisms using escapeshellarg() to ensure all user-supplied arguments are safely passed to system commands. For environments that cannot be patched instantly due to operational constraints, temporary mitigations should focus on strict input validation at the point of monitor name creation. Administrators can enforce a whitelist approach for allowed characters in monitor names, restricting them to alphanumeric values and basic punctuation while explicitly blocking shell metacharacters such as ;, |, &, $, `, \, and quotes. Additionally, implementing role-based access control reviews can help ensure that only trusted personnel have the ability to create or edit monitors, reducing the attack surface for initial payload injection. Regular security audits of custom scripts and third-party integrations within ZoneMinder are also recommended to prevent similar command injection flaws in other modules where user input interacts with system utilities.