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Fencer Vulns
medium 6.1

CVE-2026-17431 json

PDF::WebKit versions through 1.2 for Perl allow OS command injection via a 2-arg open() of the output path in to_pdf and of stylesheet paths in _style_tag_for

published 2026-08-12 2 mo ago modified 2026-10-23 16 d ago also EUVD-2026-57696

cvss
6.1
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.9%
EPSS 0.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 61%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

PDF::WebKit versions through 1.2 for Perl allow OS command injection via a 2-arg open() of the output path in to_pdf and of stylesheet paths in _style_tag_for.

to_pdf reads the generated PDF back from its path argument, and _style_tag_for reads each entry of the stylesheets list, by assigning the path to a local @ARGV and reading it with the diamond operator, which opens each @ARGV element with Perl's 2-arg open(). A value that begins or ends with a pipe ("| cmd", "cmd |") is run as a command rather than opened as a file, and one that begins with a redirect ("> path", ">> path") opens that path for write or append. to_file forwards its path argument to to_pdf and reaches the same read.

Any caller that forwards untrusted input as the output path or as a stylesheets entry can run a command under the process UID; with the "cmd |" form the command's output is returned in place of the PDF, and with the "> path" form the named file is truncated. Stylesheets may only be added to an HTML source, so a URL or file source exposes the output path alone.

Patch / fix

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial
Assessed
2 mo ago

Exploit prediction

0.95% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 61% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CISA ADP 3.1 6.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N
CNA 3.1 6.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N

Affected products

  • MITHALDU PDF::WebKit

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command
  • CWE-73 External Control of File Name or Path

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.