CVE-2026-41450 in UAC
Summary
by MITRE • 08/21/2026
UAC (Unix-like Artifacts Collector) versions prior to 3.3.0 contain a command injection vulnerability in the _command_collector function where foreach command output lines are substituted directly into command strings via sed without proper escaping before being evaluated with eval. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious filenames or artifact definitions containing shell metacharacters such as command substitution syntax or semicolons to execute arbitrary commands on the analyst's host system.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/21/2026
The Unix-like Artifacts Collector, commonly known as UAC, is a specialized tool designed for digital forensics and incident response that automates the collection of artifacts from various operating systems including Linux, macOS, and Windows. In versions prior to 3.3.0, a critical security flaw exists within the _command_collector function which serves as a core component for executing system commands and processing their output during the artifact acquisition process. This vulnerability stems from improper input validation and sanitization practices when handling data retrieved from file systems or user-defined configurations. Specifically, the software iterates through command output lines using a foreach loop and subsequently substitutes these raw strings directly into new shell command constructs via sed without applying necessary escaping mechanisms before passing them to an eval statement for execution. This architectural decision creates a direct pathway for code injection attacks against analysts who utilize compromised or maliciously crafted inputs within their forensic workflows.
The technical nature of this flaw aligns with CWE-78, which classifies improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command, commonly referred to as operating system command injection. The vulnerability is triggered when the application processes filenames or artifact definitions that contain shell metacharacters such as semicolons, pipes, backticks for command substitution, or dollar signs for variable expansion. Because these characters are not escaped before being embedded into the command string passed to eval, an attacker can inject arbitrary commands that will be executed with the privileges of the user running UAC. This is particularly dangerous in forensic contexts because analysts often run tools as privileged users to access restricted files and system logs, thereby granting potential attackers elevated rights on the host machine if they can manipulate input sources such as mounted drives or imported evidence images containing maliciously named files.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses a severe risk to the integrity of digital investigations and the security of the analyst's workstation. An attacker who has placed crafted artifacts in a directory being scanned by UAC could achieve remote code execution on the host system without any user interaction beyond initiating the collection process. This bypasses traditional perimeter defenses since the malicious activity originates from within the trusted forensic environment. The impact extends beyond simple command execution, potentially allowing for data exfiltration, persistence mechanisms installation, or lateral movement if the analyst's machine is part of a larger network infrastructure. Such exploitation undermines the trust in automated forensics tools and highlights the dangers of assuming that input sources like evidence files are inherently safe from manipulation by adversaries who may have pre-planted malicious content during initial system compromise.
This vulnerability maps to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1059, specifically Command and Scripting Interpreter sub-techniques such as sh or bash command injection, which describes how attackers use built-in operating system utilities to execute commands. It also relates to CWE-20 regarding improper input validation where the software fails to verify that inputs meet expected format constraints before processing them. To mitigate this risk, organizations must immediately upgrade UAC to version 3.3.0 or later where these sanitization issues have been addressed by implementing proper escaping of special characters and avoiding direct use of eval with unsanitized user-controlled data. Additionally, forensic practitioners should adopt defense-in-depth strategies such as running collection tools within isolated virtual machines or containers with restricted privileges to limit the blast radius in case of accidental execution of malicious commands. Regular auditing of tool configurations and strict validation of all input sources including file names and metadata are essential practices to maintain security integrity during incident response operations.