CVE-2026-64812 in IntelliJ IDEA
Summary
by MITRE • 07/23/2026
In JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA before 2026.2 unauthorized input injection was possible in a Remote Development session
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/23/2026
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA versions prior to 2026.2 contained a critical security vulnerability that enabled unauthorized input injection within Remote Development sessions, creating significant risks for developers working in distributed environments. This vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user-provided data during remote development operations, allowing malicious actors to inject arbitrary commands or data into the development environment. The flaw particularly affects users who leverage IntelliJ IDEA's remote development capabilities, which enable seamless collaboration between local IDE instances and remote servers or containers. When users establish Remote Development sessions, the IDE typically communicates with remote hosts using various protocols including SSH and container-based connections, making these channels potential attack vectors for input manipulation. The vulnerability allows attackers to exploit weak sanitization mechanisms in the remote session handling code, potentially enabling command injection attacks that could compromise the entire remote development environment.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves improper handling of user inputs within the Remote Development framework where IntelliJ IDEA fails to adequately validate or sanitize data received from remote hosts during active development sessions. Attackers can manipulate input fields, configuration parameters, or connection strings to inject malicious content that gets processed by the IDE's remote session management components. This creates opportunities for privilege escalation, arbitrary code execution, and potential lateral movement within network environments where developers maintain access to multiple systems. The flaw operates at the application layer and affects the integrity of remote development workflows, particularly when users connect to untrusted or compromised remote hosts. Security researchers identified that the vulnerability stems from inadequate input filtering mechanisms in the IDE's remote session handling code, which processes user data without proper sanitization checks. This weakness enables attackers to exploit command injection vulnerabilities through carefully crafted inputs that bypass normal validation procedures.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption or service disruption, as it can lead to complete compromise of development environments and potential access to sensitive source code repositories. Organizations using IntelliJ IDEA for remote development may face significant risks including unauthorized code execution, data exfiltration, and persistent backdoor access through compromised development sessions. The vulnerability particularly affects enterprises with distributed development teams that rely heavily on remote development workflows, creating attack surfaces where developers might unknowingly establish connections to malicious hosts or where existing connections could be hijacked. Attackers can exploit this weakness to gain elevated privileges within the remote development environment, potentially accessing production systems or sensitive internal resources through compromised developer workstations. The impact is further amplified when considering that many developers maintain long-running remote sessions that could remain active for extended periods, providing attackers with sustained access windows and opportunities for deeper system exploitation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate application of JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA version 2026.2 or later, which includes enhanced input validation and sanitization mechanisms specifically designed to prevent unauthorized data injection in remote development sessions. Organizations should implement comprehensive network segmentation policies that limit direct connectivity between developer workstations and sensitive production environments, reducing the potential impact of compromised remote development sessions. Security teams must conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of existing remote development configurations and establish monitoring procedures to detect anomalous input patterns or unauthorized connection attempts within their development environments. Additional protective measures include implementing strict access controls for remote development hosts, regular security training for developers on recognizing potential attack vectors, and maintaining up-to-date threat intelligence regarding attacks targeting integrated development environments. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-74 standards related to improper neutralization of special elements used in data queries and follows ATT&CK techniques for command and scripting interpreter execution through remote development tools. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems that can identify suspicious patterns in remote development traffic, particularly around connection establishment and data transmission phases where input injection attacks typically occur.