MITHALDU PDF::WebKit up to 1.2 Meta Tags _pdf_webkit_meta_tags KEY/VALUE argument injection

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in MITHALDU PDF::WebKit up to 1.2. It has been rated as critical. The impacted element is the function _pdf_webkit_meta_tags of the component Meta Tags. Performing a manipulation of the argument KEY/VALUE results in argument injection. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2026-16770. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. There is no exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in MITHALDU PDF::WebKit up to 1.2. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function _pdf_webkit_meta_tags of the component Meta Tags. The manipulation of the argument KEY/VALUE with an unknown input leads to a argument injection vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-88. The product constructs a string for a command to be executed by a separate component in another control sphere, but it does not properly delimit the intended arguments, options, or switches within that command string. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

PDF::WebKit versions through 1.2 for Perl allow argument injection into wkhtmltopdf via meta tags in the source document. For an HTML string or file source, the constructor collects every <meta name="pdf-webkit-KEY" content="VALUE"> element in the document head through _pdf_webkit_meta_tags and turns each one into a wkhtmltopdf command line option. KEY is normalized to an option name matching --[a-z0-9-]+ but is not checked against an allow list, VALUE is passed through unchanged as the argument that follows it, and a VALUE of "yes" emits the option as a bare flag. BUILD merges the meta derived options last, so they also override the module defaults and the options passed to new. Switches such as --enable-local-file-access and --cookie-jar are reachable this way. The renderer is executed with an argument list rather than a shell command, so this is argument injection and not shell injection. Any caller that renders untrusted HTML lets the document choose the renderer's options and override those set by the application, including options that read local files into the resulting PDF or write to a chosen path. A URL source is not scanned, and the scan is skipped when XML::LibXML, a recommended dependency, is not installed.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-16770 since 07/23/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/13/2026). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1059 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Web Browser

Vendor

• MITHALDU

Name

• PDF::WebKit

Version

• 1.0
• 1.1
• 1.2

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Discussion