CVE-2026-42590 HIGH

CVE-2026-42590: Gotenberg: ExifTool group-prefix syntax bypasses dangerous-tag blocklist

Vendor Gotenberg
Product gotenberg
Weakness CWE-184
Published May 14, 2026
Last update May 15, 2026

CVSS base score

8.2/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality None
Integrity High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L

What the vulnerability does

01Description

Gotenberg is a Docker-powered stateless API for PDF files. Prior to 8.30.0, The ExifTool metadata write blocklist in Gotenberg can be bypassed using ExifTool's group-prefix syntax, enabling arbitrary file rename, move, hardlink, and symlink creation on the server. ExifTool supports group-prefix syntax where File:FileName is processed identically to FileName -- the prefix is stripped by SetNewValue in Writer.pl before tag matching. The safeKeyPattern regex (^[a-zA-Z0-9\-_.:]+$) allows colons, so prefixed tag names pass validation. Any prefix works: File:FileName, System:Directory, a:HardLink, etc. Additionally, FilePermissions, FileUserID, and FileGroupID pseudo-tags are not blocked at all and can modify file attributes without any prefix. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.30.0.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

May 14, 2026 CVE published
May 15, 2026 Record updated