{"id":"CVE-2026-12171","state":"PUBLISHED","title":"auto-changelog: code execution via untrusted in-repository configuration (handlebarsSetup/plugins), plus argument injection, path traversal, and SSRF","description":"auto-changelog before 2.6.1 merges configuration from inside the target repository (the .auto-changelog file and the auto-changelog key in package.json) into its options, and honors security-sensitive options from that untrusted source. The handlebarsSetup option is passed to require(), so running auto-changelog over attacker-controlled repository content (for example, in a CI workflow that checks out an untrusted pull request head, or locally on a forked or third-party repository) executes attacker-chosen code with the privileges of the invoking user or CI job, including access to workflow secrets, without the repository dependencies ever being installed. The plugins option similarly loads attacker-controlled modules from the repository. Under the same conditions, appendGitLog/appendGitTag allow git argument injection (e.g. --output= to write arbitrary files), output allows writing attacker-influenced content to arbitrary paths, and template causes an outbound request to an attacker-chosen URL. Version 2.6.1 treats in-repository configuration as untrusted and refuses to run when it sets these options, unless the new --unsafe-config flag is passed.","publishedAt":"2026-10-05T16:25:19.098Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T19:04:19.152Z","severity":{"score":8.4,"label":"High","version":"4.0","vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N","source":"harborist"},"assigner":"harborist","products":["cookpete auto-changelog"],"affected":[{"vendor":"cookpete","product":"auto-changelog","packageName":"auto-changelog","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"0","status":"affected","lessThan":"2.6.1","versionType":"semver"}],"collectionURL":"https://www.npmjs.com/","repo":"https://github.com/cookpete/auto-changelog"}],"references":["https://github.com/cookpete/auto-changelog/security/advisories/GHSA-xpvr-2hvx-m8q4","https://github.com/cookpete/auto-changelog/commit/1d02a48a0a57c69a3cd268aca375d64d50877c1a"],"weaknesses":["CWE-829","CWE-94","CWE-88","CWE-22","CWE-918"],"ingestedAt":"2026-10-29T20:10:52.580Z","source":{"repository":"CVEProject/cvelistV5","path":"cves/2026/12xxx/CVE-2026-12171.json","commit":"556c9d3a8cd17e218bb8e452ba7cd619a384ff47"},"raw":{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2026-12171","state":"PUBLISHED","datePublished":"2026-10-05T16:25:19.098Z","dateUpdated":"2026-10-05T19:04:19.152Z","assignerShortName":"harborist","assignerOrgId":"7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158","dateReserved":"2026-06-12T21:15:49.095Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"title":"auto-changelog: code execution via untrusted in-repository configuration (handlebarsSetup/plugins), plus argument injection, path traversal, and SSRF","descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"auto-changelog before 2.6.1 merges configuration from inside the target repository (the .auto-changelog file and the auto-changelog key in package.json) into its options, and honors security-sensitive options from that untrusted source. The handlebarsSetup option is passed to require(), so running auto-changelog over attacker-controlled repository content (for example, in a CI workflow that checks out an untrusted pull request head, or locally on a forked or third-party repository) executes attacker-chosen code with the privileges of the invoking user or CI job, including access to workflow secrets, without the repository dependencies ever being installed. The plugins option similarly loads attacker-controlled modules from the repository. Under the same conditions, appendGitLog/appendGitTag allow git argument injection (e.g. --output= to write arbitrary files), output allows writing attacker-influenced content to arbitrary paths, and template causes an outbound request to an attacker-chosen URL. Version 2.6.1 treats in-repository configuration as untrusted and refuses to run when it sets these options, unless the new --unsafe-config flag is passed."}],"affected":[{"vendor":"cookpete","product":"auto-changelog","packageName":"auto-changelog","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"0","status":"affected","lessThan":"2.6.1","versionType":"semver"}],"collectionURL":"https://www.npmjs.com/","repo":"https://github.com/cookpete/auto-changelog"}],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/cookpete/auto-changelog/security/advisories/GHSA-xpvr-2hvx-m8q4","tags":["vendor-advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/cookpete/auto-changelog/commit/1d02a48a0a57c69a3cd268aca375d64d50877c1a","tags":["patch"]}],"metrics":[{"format":"CVSS","scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"GENERAL"}],"cvssV4_0":{"attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"LOW","attackRequirements":"NONE","privilegesRequired":"NONE","userInteraction":"ACTIVE","vulnConfidentialityImpact":"HIGH","subConfidentialityImpact":"NONE","vulnIntegrityImpact":"HIGH","subIntegrityImpact":"NONE","vulnAvailabilityImpact":"HIGH","subAvailabilityImpact":"NONE","exploitMaturity":"NOT_DEFINED","Safety":"NOT_DEFINED","Automatable":"NOT_DEFINED","Recovery":"NOT_DEFINED","valueDensity":"NOT_DEFINED","vulnerabilityResponseEffort":"NOT_DEFINED","providerUrgency":"NOT_DEFINED","version":"4.0","baseSeverity":"HIGH","baseScore":8.4,"vectorString":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"}},{"format":"CVSS","scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"GENERAL"}],"cvssV3_1":{"version":"3.1","attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"LOW","privilegesRequired":"NONE","userInteraction":"REQUIRED","scope":"UNCHANGED","confidentialityImpact":"HIGH","integrityImpact":"HIGH","availabilityImpact":"HIGH","baseSeverity":"HIGH","baseScore":7.8,"vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"}}],"problemTypes":[{"descriptions":[{"cweId":"CWE-829","lang":"en","description":"CWE-829: Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere","type":"CWE"}]},{"descriptions":[{"cweId":"CWE-94","lang":"en","description":"CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')","type":"CWE"}]},{"descriptions":[{"cweId":"CWE-88","lang":"en","description":"CWE-88: Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command ('Argument Injection')","type":"CWE"}]},{"descriptions":[{"cweId":"CWE-22","lang":"en","description":"CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')","type":"CWE"}]},{"descriptions":[{"cweId":"CWE-918","lang":"en","description":"CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)","type":"CWE"}]}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"harborist","orgId":"7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158","dateUpdated":"2026-10-05T16:25:19.098Z"},"workarounds":[{"lang":"en","value":"Do not run auto-changelog over untrusted repository content, including CI workflows that check out pull request heads from forks.","supportingMedia":[{"type":"text/html","base64":false,"value":"<p>Do not run auto-changelog over untrusted repository content, including CI workflows that check out pull request heads from forks.</p>"}]}],"solutions":[{"lang":"en","value":"Upgrade to auto-changelog 2.6.1 or later. Options that load code, inject git arguments, write outside the repository, or fetch URLs must now be passed on the command line; `--unsafe-config` restores the old behavior for fully trusted repositories only.","supportingMedia":[{"type":"text/html","base64":false,"value":"<p>Upgrade to auto-changelog 2.6.1 or later. Options that load code, inject git arguments, write outside the repository, or fetch URLs must now be passed on the command line; `--unsafe-config` restores the old behavior for fully trusted repositories only.</p>"}]}],"credits":[{"lang":"en","value":"d00xy-hash","type":"finder"},{"lang":"en","value":"Jordan Harband (ljharb)","type":"coordinator"}],"source":{"advisory":"GHSA-xpvr-2hvx-m8q4","discovery":"EXTERNAL"},"x_generator":{"engine":"Vulnogram 0.2.0"}},"adp":[{"title":"CISA ADP Vulnrichment","references":[{"url":"https://github.com/cookpete/auto-changelog/security/advisories/GHSA-xpvr-2hvx-m8q4","tags":["exploit"]}],"metrics":[{"other":{"type":"ssvc","content":{"timestamp":"2026-10-05T19:03:58.537396Z","id":"CVE-2026-12171","options":[{"Exploitation":"poc"},{"Automatable":"no"},{"Technical Impact":"total"}],"role":"CISA Coordinator","version":"2.0.3"}}}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"CISA-ADP","orgId":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0","dateUpdated":"2026-10-05T19:04:19.152Z"}}]}}}