CVE-2026-116958 in konflux-ci
Summary
by MITRE • 11/02/2026
A flaw was found in konflux-ci. This vulnerability allows arbitrary code execution due to improper quoting of shell variables in deployment scripts. A local attacker who can supply arguments to the affected scripts could exploit this issue to trigger unintended command substitution, executing commands with the privileges of the deployment runner.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/02/2026
The identified vulnerability within konflux-ci represents a critical security flaw rooted in poor scripting practices, specifically involving improper shell variable quoting during deployment operations. This type of error is classically categorized under CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command, commonly known as OS Command Injection. The core technical issue arises when user-supplied or dynamically generated input is interpolated into a command string without adequate sanitization or enclosure within quotes. In shell scripting environments like Bash, the lack of proper quoting allows special characters such as spaces, semicolons, and ampersands to be interpreted by the shell parser rather than being treated as literal data. This parsing ambiguity creates an opening for arbitrary code execution if an attacker can influence the content of these variables before they are passed to system commands.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to the context in which it occurs. The flaw permits a local attacker who has the ability to supply arguments or input parameters to the affected deployment scripts to trigger unintended command substitution. When such injection succeeds, the maliciously crafted commands are executed with the privileges of the deployment runner process. In continuous integration and delivery pipelines, these runners often possess elevated permissions necessary for building, testing, and deploying software artifacts. Consequently, successful exploitation could allow an attacker to gain full control over the build environment, potentially leading to data exfiltration, modification of source code or binaries, pivoting to other systems within the network infrastructure, or establishing persistent backdoors. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter, where adversaries use native operating system utilities to execute arbitrary commands on a target system.
Mitigation strategies must focus on both immediate remediation of the vulnerable scripts and broader security hardening of the CI/CD pipeline. The primary technical fix involves ensuring that all shell variables are properly quoted when used in command arguments. For example, using double quotes around variable expansions prevents word splitting and pathname expansion attacks. Additionally developers should avoid using eval or indirect references where possible, as these constructs significantly increase the attack surface for injection vulnerabilities. Implementing strict input validation to reject unexpected characters can also serve as a defense-in-depth measure. Beyond code changes, organizations should enforce least-privilege principles by configuring deployment runners with minimal necessary permissions and isolating build environments from production systems. Regular security audits of CI/CD scripts using static analysis tools designed for shell scripting flaws are recommended to detect similar issues before they reach production environments.