CVE-2026-44461
CVE-2026-44461 is a high-severity vulnerability in Zed with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.6. 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
- Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.6)
- EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (17th percentile)
- Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
- EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2026-32936
- Weakness: CWE-78
- Affected product: Zed
- Published:
- Last modified:
Description
Zed is a code editor. Prior to 0.227.1, Zed builds SSH/WSL remote commands as a shell command string that starts with exec env ..., but environment variable keys are inserted without shell quoting or validation. If an attacker can control an environment variable key (for example via project terminal settings), shell expansions in the key (such as $(...)) are evaluated by the remote shell when a terminal is opened. This can lead to arbitrary command execution on the remote host under the victim user's account. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.227.1.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-44461?
- Zed is a code editor. Prior to 0.227.1, Zed builds SSH/WSL remote commands as a shell command string that starts with exec env ..., but environment variable keys are inserted without shell quoting or validation. If an attacker can control an environment variable key (for example via project terminal settings), shell expansions in the key (such as $(...)) are evaluated by the remote shell when a terminal is opened. This can lead to arbitrary command execution on the remote host under the victim user's account. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.227.1.
- How severe is CVE-2026-44461?
- CVE-2026-44461 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.6, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
- Is CVE-2026-44461 being actively exploited?
- It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (17th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- What products are affected by CVE-2026-44461?
- CVE-2026-44461 affects Zed. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-44461?
- Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
- Does CVE-2026-44461 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
- Yes. CVE-2026-44461 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-32936.
- When was CVE-2026-44461 published?
- CVE-2026-44461 was published on 2026-05-28 and last updated on 2026-06-17.
References
Affected products (1)
- cpe:2.3:a:zed:zed:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
More vulnerabilities in Zed
- CVE-2026-27976 — High (CVSS 8.8): Zed, a code editor, has an extension installer allows tar/gzip downloads. Prior to version 0.224.4, the tar extractor…
- CVE-2026-44466 — High (CVSS 8.6): Zed is a code editor. Prior to 0.229.0, Zed's terminal tool permission system can be bypassed via bash arithmetic…
- CVE-2026-44465 — High (CVSS 8.6): Zed is a code editor. Prior to 0.227.1, Zed IDE executes arbitrary commands when opening a folder with a malicious…
- CVE-2026-44463 — High (CVSS 8.6): Zed is a code editor. Prior to 0.229.0, Zed's terminal tool permission system can be bypassed by prepending environment…
- CVE-2025-68433 — High (CVSS 7.7): Zed, a code editor, has an aribtrary code execution vulnerability in versions prior to 0.218.2-pre. The Zed IDE loads…
- CVE-2025-68432 — High (CVSS 7.7): Zed, a code editor, has an aribtrary code execution vulnerability in versions prior to 0.218.2-pre. The Zed IDE loads…
Other CWE-78 (OS Command Injection) vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-56004 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A shellcode injection in the mercurial handler of the obs tar_scm source service before version 0.12.4 could be used by…
- CVE-2026-56415 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Storage Concentrator (SC & SCVM) contains a command injection vulnerability within the debug.pl script that is…
- CVE-2026-56413 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Storage Concentrator (SC & SCVM) contains a command injection vulnerability in the ms_service.pl service, which listens…
- CVE-2026-49869 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Kestra is an open-source, event-driven orchestration platform. Prior to 1.0.45 and 1.3.21, AuthenticationFilter in…
- CVE-2026-49261 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): MariaDB server is a community developed fork of MySQL server. Versions 10.6.1 through 10.6.26, 10.11.1 through…
- CVE-2026-10520 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): An OS Command Injection vulnerability in Ivanti Sentry before the R10.5.2, R10.6.2 and R10.7.1 versions allows a…