CVE-2026-88889 in Renovate
Summary
by MITRE • 09/10/2026
Renovate before 44.14.7 contains a command injection vulnerability in the Maven Wrapper manager that allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands by specifying a malicious distributionType parameter in maven-wrapper.properties. Attackers can inject shell commands through unescaped distributionType values to achieve remote code execution when Renovate processes Maven Wrapper updates in binarySource=docker mode.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/10/2026
The vulnerability identified in versions of the Renovate automation tool prior to release 44.14.7 represents a critical command injection flaw within its Maven Wrapper management subsystem. This security issue stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms when processing configuration files, specifically the maven-wrapper.properties file. The core technical failure occurs during the parsing of the distributionType parameter, which dictates how the Apache Maven wrapper binary is retrieved or constructed. When Renovate operates in a specific operational mode known as binarySource=docker, it attempts to manage these wrappers by interacting with containerized environments. In this context, an attacker who has the ability to influence or inject content into the maven-wrapper.properties file can embed malicious shell commands directly within the distributionType field. Because the application fails to properly escape or validate these values before passing them to underlying system execution functions, the injected payload is interpreted and executed by the host operating system rather than being treated as a static configuration string.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses a severe risk of remote code execution with the privileges of the user account running the Renovate process. If Renovate is deployed in a continuous integration or deployment pipeline, such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, or GitHub Actions, the compromise can extend beyond the immediate container to affect the host infrastructure. An attacker could leverage this flaw to exfiltrate sensitive repository data, install backdoors, pivot to other systems within the network, or disrupt service availability by consuming system resources through malicious processes. The impact is particularly acute in environments where Renovate has elevated permissions or access to critical build artifacts and secrets stored in environment variables accessible during the wrapper update process.
This flaw aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) category CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command, commonly known as OS Command Injection. The attack vector corresponds to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter, specifically involving shell commands executed via a system call or subprocess invocation. The vulnerability highlights the dangers of dynamically constructing command lines from user-controlled input without rigorous sanitization, especially when dealing with configuration files that are often subject to modification by various stakeholders in a development workflow.
To mitigate this risk, organizations must immediately upgrade Renovate to version 44.14.7 or later, where the developers have implemented strict validation and escaping protocols for parameters passed to system commands. In addition to patching, it is advisable to enforce least-privilege principles by running Renovate with minimal necessary permissions, avoiding root access within containers whenever possible. Furthermore, organizations should implement input validation policies that restrict allowed values for configuration fields like distributionType to a predefined whitelist of safe strings rather than accepting arbitrary text. Regular auditing of CI/CD pipeline configurations and automated security scanning tools can help detect attempts to inject malicious content into build scripts or property files before they are processed by vulnerable versions of the tooling stack.