CVE-2026-23520

CVE-2026-23520 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Arcane with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.0. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-78.

Key facts

Description

Arcane provides modern docker management. Prior to 1.13.0, Arcane has a command injection in the updater service. Arcane’s updater service supported lifecycle labels com.getarcaneapp.arcane.lifecycle.pre-update and com.getarcaneapp.arcane.lifecycle.post-update that allowed defining a command to run before or after a container update. The label value is passed directly to /bin/sh -c without sanitization or validation. Because any authenticated user (not limited to administrators) can create projects through the API, an attacker can create a project that specifies one of these lifecycle labels with a malicious command. When an administrator later triggers a container update (either manually or via scheduled update checks), Arcane reads the lifecycle label and executes its value as a shell command inside the container. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.13.0.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-23520?
Arcane provides modern docker management. Prior to 1.13.0, Arcane has a command injection in the updater service. Arcane’s updater service supported lifecycle labels com.getarcaneapp.arcane.lifecycle.pre-update and com.getarcaneapp.arcane.lifecycle.post-update that allowed defining a command to run before or after a container update. The label value is passed directly to /bin/sh -c without sanitization or validation. Because any authenticated user (not limited to administrators) can create projects through the API, an attacker can create a project that specifies one of these lifecycle labels with a malicious command. When an administrator later triggers a container update (either manually or via scheduled update checks), Arcane reads the lifecycle label and executes its value as a shell command inside the container. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.13.0.
How severe is CVE-2026-23520?
CVE-2026-23520 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.0, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2026-23520 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (74th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-23520?
CVE-2026-23520 affects Arcane. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-23520?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2026-23520 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2026-23520 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-2738.
When was CVE-2026-23520 published?
CVE-2026-23520 was published on 2026-01-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

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