CVE-2026-123717 in Otterdog
Summary
by MITRE • 11/10/2026
OS command injection in the pass and bitwarden credential providers in Eclipse Foundation Eclipse Otterdog through 1.7.1 allows a user able to modify an organization configuration to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the operator running otterdog, including access to their credential vault, via a crafted secret reference (pass:<path> or bitwarden:<item>@<field>) or credential identifier that is resolved when otterdog apply is run.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/10/2026
The vulnerability identified in Eclipse Otterdog versions through 1.7.1 represents a critical OS command injection flaw within the pass and Bitwarden credential providers. This security defect allows an attacker with the ability to modify organization configurations to execute arbitrary operating system commands under the context of the user account running the otterdog operator process. The root cause lies in how the application handles secret references and credential identifiers during the resolution phase triggered by the otterdog apply command. Specifically, when a crafted string beginning with pass: or bitwarden:@ is processed as part of an organization configuration update, the system fails to adequately sanitize these inputs before passing them to underlying shell commands for retrieval. This lack of proper input validation and escaping enables the injection of malicious payloads that are interpreted by the host operating system rather than treated strictly as literal credential identifiers.
From a technical perspective, this flaw is classified under CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command. The vulnerability exploits the direct concatenation or interpolation of user-controlled data into shell command strings without sufficient filtering for special characters such as semicolons, pipes, ampersands, or backticks. When the otterdog operator processes a configuration change that includes these crafted secret references, it invokes external binaries like pass or Bitwarden CLI tools to fetch credentials. Because the input is not properly isolated from command syntax, an attacker can append additional commands after the intended credential lookup operation. This results in arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the otterdog service account, which often possesses elevated permissions necessary for managing infrastructure and secrets within a CI/CD pipeline environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for lateral movement and data exfiltration. An attacker who gains write access to organization configurations can leverage this command injection to read sensitive information stored in the credential vault, including API keys, database passwords, and private SSH keys held by the pass or Bitwarden providers. Beyond simple data theft, the ability to execute arbitrary commands allows for further compromise of the underlying infrastructure. The attacker could install backdoors, modify system configurations, pivot to other network segments, or disrupt service availability. Given that CI/CD operators often run with high-level privileges to deploy applications and manage cloud resources, this vulnerability effectively grants an unauthenticated or low-privileged user full control over the host machine running the otterdog operator.
This incident aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter, specifically regarding OS command execution via CI/CD pipelines. It also reflects common patterns found in CWE-284 Improper Access Control, where insufficient restrictions on configuration modifications allow for privilege escalation through automated tool exploitation. The vulnerability underscores the risks associated with integrating external credential management tools into automation frameworks without rigorous input validation and least-privilege enforcement.
To mitigate this risk, immediate updates to Eclipse Otterdog beyond version 1.7.1 are required if a patched release is available that addresses the command injection in the pass and Bitwarden providers. In the interim, organizations should enforce strict access controls on organization configuration changes, ensuring that only trusted administrators can modify settings related to credential providers. Additionally, implementing input validation libraries that strictly whitelist allowed characters for secret references rather than relying on blacklist approaches can prevent malicious payloads from being interpreted as commands. Running the otterdog operator with minimal necessary privileges using principle of least privilege further limits the blast radius should an injection attempt succeed. Regular security audits and static analysis tools configured to detect unsafe command execution patterns in CI/CD configurations are also recommended to identify similar vulnerabilities across the automation stack.