CVE-2026-11526: GD versions before 2.86 for Perl allow OS command injection and file overwrite via a 2-arg open() of filename arguments in _make_filehandle

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 1.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-06-14 · updated 2026-07-23
Weakness: CWE-73

Description

GD versions before 2.86 for Perl allow OS command injection and file overwrite via a 2-arg open() of filename arguments in _make_filehandle. GD::Image::_make_filehandle opens a filename argument with Perl's 2-arg open(), so a filename that begins or ends with a pipe ("| cmd", "cmd |") or begins with a redirect ("> path", ">> path") is run as a command or redirect rather than opened as a file. _make_filehandle is the single open path behind every filename-accepting constructor (new, newFromPng, newFromJpeg, and the rest); the in-memory *Data variants do not open a path and are unaffected. Any caller that forwards untrusted input to one of these constructors as a pathname can run an arbitrary command or truncate a file under the process UID.

Affected products

RURBAN GD: before 2.86 — fixed in 2.86

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: RURBAN GD 2.86. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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