CVE-2026-54057Public exploit

Shell command execution via reflected OSC 21 query

Published Jun 12, 2026 · Updated Jun 12, 2026

Command injection in Kovid Goyal kitty before 0.47.3 allows attackers to execute shell commands through crafted terminal input. The color_control function reflects an unknown OSC 21 query key, including newline bytes, into the child PTY without filtering; the shell treats each newline as command submission. A user must display attacker-controlled text in kitty, such as by running cat on a crafted file, after which commands run with that user's shell privileges.

CVSS severity7.3
High
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Command injection in Kovid Goyal kitty before 0.47.3 allows attackers to execute shell commands through crafted terminal input. The color_control function reflects an unknown OSC 21 query key, including newline bytes, into the child PTY without filtering; the shell treats each newline as command submission. A user must display attacker-controlled text in kitty, such as by running cat on a crafted file, after which commands run with that user's shell privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-54057
Published
Jun 12, 2026
Updated
Jun 12, 2026
Vendor
Kovid Goyal
Product
kitty
Classifications
CWE-150, CWE-94, T1059.004, T1204.002
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 12, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jun 12, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=< 0.47.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Kovid Goyal · kittyversion=< 0.47.3

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.3GitHub, Inc.CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-150Improper Neutralization of Escape, Meta, or Control Sequences
CWE-94Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
T1059.004Unix Shell
T1204.002Malicious File

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo