CVE-2026-88886 in Renovate
Summary
by MITRE • 09/10/2026
Renovate is a dependency update automation tool. In versions before 44.14.7 (and in Mend Renovate CE/EE distributions before 15.4.0, and the mend-renovate-enterprise-edition Helm chart before 10.4.0), the manager/gradle-wrapper module does not escape the distributionUrl value read from a repository's gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties file before invoking the Gradle Wrapper CLI. In self-hosted deployments configured with binarySource=docker and allowedUnsafeExecutions=['gradleWrapper', ...], a repository that supplies a crafted distributionUrl (for example, appending a shell metacharacter and command) can cause arbitrary commands to be executed as the Renovate user when Renovate processes a Gradle Wrapper update. The issue is fixed in Renovate 44.14.7; as a workaround, remove 'gradleWrapper' from allowedUnsafeExecutions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/10/2026
The vulnerability identified involves a critical command injection flaw within the dependency management tool Renovate, specifically affecting versions prior to 44.14.7 in open-source distributions and corresponding earlier releases of Mend Renovate Community Edition, Enterprise Edition, and their associated Helm charts. This security issue resides within the manager/gradle-wrapper module, which is responsible for handling updates related to Gradle Wrapper configurations found in repository property files. The core technical flaw stems from a failure to properly sanitize or escape the distributionUrl value extracted from the gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties file before this value is passed as an argument to the Gradle Wrapper command-line interface. In secure software design, any external input that influences system commands must be rigorously validated and escaped to prevent unintended interpretation of special characters by the underlying shell or execution environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe when Renovate operates in self-hosted deployments with specific configuration settings enabled. Specifically, if the binarySource parameter is set to docker and the allowedUnsafeExecutions list includes gradleWrapper, an attacker can exploit this lack of input validation. By supplying a crafted distributionUrl within a target repository that appends shell metacharacters followed by arbitrary commands, it becomes possible to execute those commands with the privileges of the user running the Renovate process. This effectively allows for remote code execution under the context of the application service account, potentially leading to full compromise of the host system or container environment where Renovate is deployed. Such an attack vector could be leveraged by malicious actors who have write access to repositories processed by the vulnerable instance, turning a dependency update tool into a mechanism for persistent backdoor installation or data exfiltration.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command, commonly known as OS Command Injection. The failure to escape user-controlled input before its use in a system command is the defining characteristic of this weakness class. Furthermore, within the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this behavior corresponds to techniques involving Execution via Remote Services or potentially T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter if shell commands are invoked directly through the compromised process. The exploitation relies on the trust relationship between the automation tool and the repositories it monitors, highlighting risks associated with CI/CD pipeline security where automated tools often run with elevated privileges to facilitate seamless integration workflows.
To mitigate this risk, immediate action is required for all affected deployments. The primary remediation strategy involves upgrading Renovate to version 44.14.7 or later, as well as updating Mend Renovate CE and EE distributions to version 15.4.0 and the mend-renovate-enterprise-edition Helm chart to version 10.4.0 respectively. These updated versions include patches that properly escape the distributionUrl value before invocation, thereby neutralizing the injection vector. For organizations unable to upgrade immediately due to operational constraints or testing requirements, a recommended workaround is to modify the configuration by removing gradleWrapper from the allowedUnsafeExecutions list. This restriction prevents the tool from executing Gradle Wrapper commands with unsafe parameters, effectively blocking the exploitation path while maintaining other dependency update functionalities that do not rely on this specific execution mode.