Gotenberg is a Docker-powered stateless API for PDF files. In versions 8.30.1 and earlier, the metadata write endpoint validates metadata keys for control characters but leaves metadata values unsanitized. A newline character in a metadata value splits the ExifTool stdin line into two separate arguments, allowing injection of arbitrary ExifTool pseudo-tags such as -FileName, -Directory, -SymLink, and -HardLink. This is a bypass of the incomplete key-sanitization fix introduced in v8.30.1. An unauthenticated attacker can rename or move any PDF being processed to an arbitrary path in the container filesystem, overwrite arbitrary files, or create symlinks and hard links at arbitrary paths.
CVE-2026-40281
“—” beside the score: it is equal to NVD's CVSS score.
This critical-severity CVE scores 10.0 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 2.3% (82nd percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs). No GitHub Security Advisory CVSS is on record for this CVE.
Also known asEUVD-2026-28214 (ENISA EUVD)Source: ENISA EUVD
- Public exploit or proof-of-concept code is available
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 10.0
- EG Score
- 10.0CRITICALmedium confidence
- EG Risk
- 76EG Risk 76/100
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.
How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)Severity100% × 45%Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 10.0 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.Exploitation40% × 40%EchelonGraph's fixed weight for EG-KEV Tier 3 (Elevated): a constant, not a probability.Automatability100% × 15%CISA's SSVC Automatable value: yes (Vulnrichment).SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at low or medium mission impact; Attend at high (mission-essential systems).Exploitation public PoC (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high. - EPSS PROB
- 2.3%
- EPSS %ILE
- 82nd
- KEV
- Not listed
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (10.0): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 10.0 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 10.0 CRITICALCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.NVD CVSS v3 · CVSS v3.0 or v3.1
- EG Likelihood
- 2.3% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-29). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at low or medium mission impact; Attend at high (mission-essential systems).CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; 60 days if it is not.Each input and its source: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low or medium mission impact; Attend at high (mission-essential systems).
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.
Exploitation public PoC (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; 60 days if it is not.
In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it
Published
May 6, 2026
Last Modified
May 11, 2026
Advisory Details (2)
Auto-updated Oct 30, 2026ExifTool stdin argument injection via metadata value newlines (bypass of key sanitization fix in v8.30.1) · Advisory · gotenberg/gotenberg · GitHub
https://github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/security/advisories/GHSA-q7r4-hc83-hf2qcommit 405f1069c026 (gotenberg/gotenberg)
Patch available: gotenberg/gotenberg v8.31.0 (contains commit 405f1069c026)
https://github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/commit/405f1069c026bb08f319fb5a44e5c67c33208318Affected Packages
(2 across 1 ecosystem)
Go(2)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v7 | — |
| — |
| github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v8 | — |
| — |
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 15× in last 7d / 51× in last 30d)
Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 99 of 216 refreshes on record for this CVE.
A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. 1 repeat row among the latest 100 is merged into the row it repeats. The 117 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.
- 2026-10-30 13:49 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-29 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.3% · 82nd percentile
- 2026-10-29 14:02 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-28 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.3% · 82nd percentile
- 2026-10-28 14:19 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-27 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.3% · 82nd percentile
- 2026-10-27 14:16 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-26 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.3% · 82nd percentile
- 2026-10-26 14:04 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-25 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.3% · 82nd percentile
- 2026-10-25 13:54 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-24 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-24 14:09 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-23 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-23 14:26 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-22 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-22 14:37 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-21 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-21 14:42 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-20 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-20 14:57 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-19 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-19 14:41 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-18 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-18 03:43 UTCEG score recompute
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- 2026-10-17 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-17 15:13 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-16 16:42 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-16 15:29 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-15 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-15 15:40 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-14 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-14 09:53 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-13 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-13 07:50 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-12 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-12 16:09 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 19:52 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 17:05 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 14:31 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 13:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-10 20:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-09 20:07 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-08 17:12 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-07 23:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-06 15:17 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 81st percentile
- 2026-10-05 17:43 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 80th percentile
- 2026-10-04 23:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 80th percentile
- 2026-10-03 14:25 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 80th percentile
- 2026-10-01 19:50 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 80th percentile
- 2026-09-30 15:03 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 2.1% · 80th percentile
- 2026-09-30 08:41 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-09-27 13:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
- 2026-09-26 15:58 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
- 2026-09-26 00:26 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
- 2026-09-18 19:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-17 19:30 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-16 14:08 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-16 05:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-15 03:11 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-13 16:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-12 15:01 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-11 15:23 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-09-11 14:53 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-11 09:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-10 09:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-08 22:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-07 16:01 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-06 13:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 47th percentile
- 2026-09-04 05:06 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-09-02 14:12 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-09-01 13:53 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-09-01 04:39 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-30 19:17 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-30 01:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-28 21:41 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-27 14:25 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-26 14:46 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-25 13:49 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-23 19:43 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-08-23 00:19 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-21 23:49 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-20 22:55 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-19 17:03 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-18 13:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-17 13:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-17 12:49 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-08-16 14:56 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-16 04:47 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-08-16 02:14 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-15 01:30 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-14 03:21 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-08-13 22:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-12 16:55 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-08-12 13:51 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-11 15:57 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-08-11 13:43 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 46th percentile
- 2026-08-11 01:27 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-08-11 00:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.6% · 45th percentile
Publicly available exploits
(2 references)Public exploit code is referenced for this CVE (1 GitHub PoC), as is 1 Nuclei detection template. A detection template checks whether a system is affected; it is not necessarily exploit code. Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly.
- GitHub PoCMRdark-ops/CVE-2026-40281-exploitPublished Oct 2, 2026
Gotenberg 8.30.1 unauthenticated RCE exploit
Open source ↗ - Nucleihttp/cves/2026/CVE-2026-40281.yamlPublished Sep 29, 2026
Gotenberg <= 8.30.1 - Remote Code Execution
Open source ↗
Related CVEs(same product + same CWE)
Same product
10 shownGo:github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v7
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2026-40281?
When was the CVE record for CVE-2026-40281 published?
Is CVE-2026-40281 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-40281?
How do I remediate CVE-2026-40281?
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2026-40281
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2026-40281?
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