CVE-2024-38366Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Root command execution via MX lookup injection

Published Jul 1, 2024 · Updated Aug 2, 2024

Command injection in CocoaPods Trunk allows remote attackers to execute commands as root through the unauthenticated signup flow. The rfc-822 host_mx method concatenates the registrant-controlled email domain into /usr/bin/env host -t MX and passes the resulting string to the shell. Controlling the email domain and its MX response is sufficient to obtain a reverse shell, exposing Trunk session tokens and allowing any Podspec to be rewritten.

CVSS severity10.0
Critical
EPSS probability17.79%
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 CocoaPods Trunk allows remote attackers to execute commands as root through the unauthenticated signup flow. The rfc-822 host_mx method concatenates the registrant-controlled email domain into /usr/bin/env host -t MX and passes the resulting string to the shell. Controlling the email domain and its MX response is sufficient to obtain a reverse shell, exposing Trunk session tokens and allowing any Podspec to be rewritten.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-38366
Published
Jul 1, 2024
Updated
Aug 2, 2024
Vendor
CocoaPods
Product
CocoaPods
Classifications
CWE-74, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 1, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 2, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <001cc3a430e75a16307f5fd6cdff1363ad2f40f3
  2. Affected versionversion=< 001cc3a430e75a16307f5fd6cdff1363ad2f40f3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

CocoaPods · CocoaPodsversion=0 <001cc3a430e75a16307f5fd6cdff1363ad2f40f3; version=< 001cc3a430e75a16307f5fd6cdff1363ad2f40f3

Published CVSS scores

10.0GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-74Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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