Gotenberg up to 8.30.x HTTP Endpoint write os command injection

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Gotenberg up to 8.30.x and classified as critical. The affected element is an unknown function of the file /forms/pdfengines/metadata/write of the component HTTP Endpoint. This manipulation causes os command injection. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-42589. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. There is no exploit available. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Gotenberg up to 8.30.x and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown part of the file /forms/pdfengines/metadata/write of the component HTTP Endpoint. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a os command injection vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-78. The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

Gotenberg is a Docker-powered stateless API for PDF files. Prior to 8.31.0, Gotenberg's /forms/pdfengines/metadata/write HTTP endpoint accepts a JSON metadata object and passes its keys directly to ExifTool via the go-exiftool library. No validation is performed on key characters. A \n embedded in a JSON key splits the ExifTool stdin stream into a new argument line, allowing an attacker to inject arbitrary ExifTool flags — including -if, which evaluates Perl expressions. This achieves unauthenticated OS command execution in a single HTTP request. The response is HTTP 200 with a valid PDF, making the attack transparent to basic monitoring. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.31.0.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-42589 since 04/29/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1202 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

Upgrading to version 8.31.0 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Name

• Gotenberg

Version

• 8.0
• 8.1
• 8.2
• 8.3
• 8.4
• 8.5
• 8.6
• 8.7
• 8.8
• 8.9
• 8.10
• 8.11
• 8.12
• 8.13
• 8.14
• 8.15
• 8.16
• 8.17
• 8.18
• 8.19
• 8.20
• 8.21
• 8.22
• 8.23
• 8.24
• 8.25
• 8.26
• 8.27
• 8.28
• 8.29
• 8.30

Website

• Product: https://github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/

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