CVE-2026-77157

ast-cli: Auto-update downloads are not verified against a checksum before execution

Published Oct 22, 2026 CVSS 4.0 · 6.3 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
ast-cli downloads two helper binaries, the Vorpal ASCA real-time engine and the SCA Resolver, from "download.checkmarx.com" as part of its auto-update flow, triggered by the Checkmarx’s "VSCode/JetBrains" extensions and by cx scan "sca-realtime".



Prior to the fix, the downloaded archive was not verified against a checksum before extraction and execution. An attacker able to substitute the served archive could deliver an arbitrary binary that ast-cli would extract and execute the contents of the archive, since no integrity check was performed on the download.



Successful exploitation requires compromising "download.checkmarx.com" and replacing the served archive with one containing an attacker-controlled binary. If the served archive had been replaced that way, any developer machine or CI pipeline invoking ASCA (via Checkmarx's VSCode/JetBrains extensions) or cx scan "sca-realtime" on an affected version would have extracted and executed that binary in place of the intended download.



The download is now verified against a published SHA-256 checksum before extraction.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories available
History
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 Checkmarx
Checkmarx ast-cli
Vendors & Products Checkmarx
Checkmarx ast-cli
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description ast-cli downloads two helper binaries, the Vorpal ASCA real-time engine and the SCA Resolver, from "download.checkmarx.com" as part of its auto-update flow, triggered by the Checkmarx’s "VSCode/JetBrains" extensions and by cx scan "sca-realtime". Prior to the fix, the downloaded archive was not verified against a checksum before extraction and execution. An attacker able to substitute the served archive could deliver an arbitrary binary that ast-cli would extract and execute the contents of the archive, since no integrity check was performed on the download. Successful exploitation requires compromising "download.checkmarx.com" and replacing the served archive with one containing an attacker-controlled binary. If the served archive had been replaced that way, any developer machine or CI pipeline invoking ASCA (via Checkmarx's VSCode/JetBrains extensions) or cx scan "sca-realtime" on an affected version would have extracted and executed that binary in place of the intended download. The download is now verified against a published SHA-256 checksum before extraction.
Title ast-cli: Auto-update downloads are not verified against a checksum before execution
Weaknesses CWE-353
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.4, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 6.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Checkmarx
Published
Updated
Nov 2, 2026, 12:08 PM
Reserved
Aug 20, 2026, 2:34 PM
Status
Deferred
Published
Oct 22, 2026, 6:17 PM
Modified
Nov 2, 2026, 1:17 PM