CVE-2026-42850

Kitty has a shell command injection

Published Jun 12, 2026 CVSS 4.0 · 7.4 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. In versions prior to 0.47.0, it is possible to inject commands within the subshell through kitty error. A special escape code will make kitty return an error, this error is not escaped and will be correctly echoed back to the terminal with CRLF, as such it will be run by the shell in use. To exploit this bug, the victim must use a netcat or a similar program to connect to the attacker, or else listening for someone to connect. Once this condition is set, an attacker could pwn the computer of the victim using a special kitty's escape code that will run a command in the shell in use. Version 04.7.0 fixes the issue.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-6423-1 kitty security update
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:kovidgoyal:kitty:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 8.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Kovidgoyal
Kovidgoyal kitty
Vendors & Products Kovidgoyal
Kovidgoyal kitty
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. In versions prior to 0.47.0, it is possible to inject commands within the subshell through kitty error. A special escape code will make kitty return an error, this error is not escaped and will be correctly echoed back to the terminal with CRLF, as such it will be run by the shell in use. To exploit this bug, the victim must use a netcat or a similar program to connect to the attacker, or else listening for someone to connect. Once this condition is set, an attacker could pwn the computer of the victim using a special kitty's escape code that will run a command in the shell in use. Version 04.7.0 fixes the issue.
Title Kitty has a shell command injection
Weaknesses CWE-77
References
Metrics cvssV4_0

{'score': 7.4, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
GitHub_M
Published
Updated
Jun 16, 2026, 3:56 AM
Reserved
Apr 30, 2026, 4:44 PM
Status
Analyzed
Published
Jun 12, 2026, 8:16 PM
Modified
Oct 26, 2026, 11:10 AM