CVE-2022-48339

Arbitrary command execution via unquoted Htmlfontify paths

Published Feb 20, 2023 · Updated Mar 18, 2025

Command injection in GNU Emacs 28.2 and earlier allows local users to execute arbitrary commands when a crafted path is processed. The hfy-text-p path in htmlfontify.el formats an externally controlled file and source directory into hfy-istext-command without shell quoting before shell-command-to-string executes it. Exploitation requires an Emacs user to run Htmlfontify on a file or directory name containing shell metacharacters, and injected commands run with that user's privileges.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability1.14%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Command injection in GNU Emacs 28.2 and earlier allows local users to execute arbitrary commands when a crafted path is processed. The hfy-text-p path in htmlfontify.el formats an externally controlled file and source directory into hfy-istext-command without shell quoting before shell-command-to-string executes it. Exploitation requires an Emacs user to run Htmlfontify on a file or directory name containing shell metacharacters, and injected commands run with that user's privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-48339
Published
Feb 20, 2023
Updated
Mar 18, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-116, CWE-1116, T1059.004, T1204.002
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 20, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 18, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.8CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-116Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output
CWE-1116Inaccurate Source Code Comments
T1059.004Command and Scripting Interpreter: Unix Shell
T1204.002User Execution: Malicious File

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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