Skip to content
Noroxi
NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2026-40281: Gotenberg vulnerable to argument injection via newlines in ExifTool metadata values

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 37/100)

  • A ready-made attack module is public (Nuclei); exploiting it takes no special expertise.
  • Public proof-of-concept code exists (GitHub); there is no record of exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 2.2% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 82.8% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
  • Fixed version: github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v8 (Go) 8.31.0.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v8 (Go) 8.31.0 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

Gotenberg is a Docker-powered stateless API for PDF files. In versions 8.30.1 and earlier, the metadata write endpoint validates metadata keys for control characters but leaves metadata values unsanitized. A newline character in a metadata value splits the ExifTool stdin line into two separate arguments, allowing injection of arbitrary ExifTool pseudo-tags such as -FileName, -Directory, -SymLink, and -HardLink. This is a bypass of the incomplete key-sanitization fix introduced in v8.30.1. An unauthenticated attacker can rename or move any PDF being processed to an arbitrary path in the container filesystem, overwrite arbitrary files, or create symlinks and hard links at arbitrary paths.

CriticalCVSS 9.1 · v3.1—Proof of concept Fix available
Published
May 6, 2026
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
2.2% · 82th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

37

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
36 / 40 · 9.1 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 2.2%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
proof of concept
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
9.1
CNA · GitHub_M
10.0
0.9 point gap

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • Proof of concept exists, no weaponized module
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2026-40281

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

One daily email digest (06:00 UTC); connect a webhook for KEV listings and weaponized exploits instantly.

Your free account also gets you

Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens

  • Stack alerts: add the products and versions you run, get the new CVEs that affect them
  • Uptime monitoring: 1 site, instant email when it goes down
  • Add your domain: subdomains and takeover risk scanned every week (1 domain)
  • 10 scans an hour on the security tools (3 a day without an account), an API key and MCP
  • All your scans in one panel: findings, what changed in the last scan, a report per domain or per client (PDF, share link)
All free tools

Sign up with email · Have an account? Sign in

Free account, no card. Unfollow any time.

Don't want an account? Get "Exploited this week" by email every MondayDon't want an account? RSS feed for thecodingmachine records

Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens

Is your version affected? Check it

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

We use this product, ask for help

Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
thecodingmachinegotenberg

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • thecodingmachine gotenbergbefore 8.31.0

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • gotenberg gotenberg

    • <= 8.30.1affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Gogithub.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v7from 0—
Gogithub.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v8before 8.31.08.31.0

Same product

thecodingmachine: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2020-13450A directory traversal vulnerability in file upload function of Gotenberg through 6.2.1 allows an attacker to upload and overwrite any writab
    41Plan
  • CVE-2026-42589Gotenberg: Unauthenticated RCE via ExifTool Metadata Key Injection
    40Plan
  • CVE-2020-13452In Gotenberg through 6.2.1, insecure permissions for tini (writable by user gotenberg) potentially allow an attacker to overwrite the file,
    40Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-40280May 5, 2026 · Gotenberg SSRF via case-insensitive URL scheme bypass in webhook and downloadFrom deny-lists
    32Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-39383May 5, 2026 · Gotenberg unauthenticated blind SSRF via unfiltered webhook URL
    27Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-40893May 14, 2026 · Gotenberg: ExifTool Dangerous Tag Blocklist Bypass via Group-Prefixed Tag Names Allows Arbitrary File Rename and Move
    32Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Go:github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v88.31.0Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

Proof of concept available

A public proof of concept or detection signature exists. Exploit knowledge is out there; don't delay patching.

Evidence

  • Nuclei detection template ×1
  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×3

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Nuclei detection templateNuclei template CVE-2026-40281 —
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02026-10-01
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:42026-10-02
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02026-10-05

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Published
  2. First PoC+147 d
  3. TodayOct 26, 2026+173 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-88 · Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command ('Argument Injection')

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

  1. Exploit maturitynone → poc
  2. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records