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Critical

Reflected unknown field names in the kitty colour control escape code allow command execution in the user's shell

Type: advisorySource: Official CVE List1 source record

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component in the colour control escape code handler in kitty from 0.47.3 before 0.49.0 allows a program writing to the terminal to execute an arbitrary command in the user's shell, because color_control() in kitty/window.py answers a query for an unrecognised field name by placing that field name into the reply, and write_escape_code_to_child() in kitty/screen.c then writes the reply to the pseudoterminal master, where it is not distinguishable from input typed by the user, without neutralising it for the shell that reads it. The payload is reduced to printable ASCII before the field name is echoed, which is the restriction introduced in 0.47.3 as the fix for CVE-2026-54057, and the record and field separators ; and = are consumed as delimiters, but every other printable character survives, which is sufficient to compose a shell command. A newline is available from handle_remote_ssh() in kitty/window.py, which writes the bytes yielded by get_ssh_data() in kittens/ssh/utils.py, the first of which begin with a newline, to the pseudoterminal master before any credential carried in the request is checked. The reply is framed as an OSC sequence carrying the escape code number, the field name, and the literal value ?. This results in execution of an attacker-chosen command with the privileges of the user running the terminal.

Announced Group revision 1
Original source ↗

CVE-2026-95832

Primary source · Revision 1

Imported from structured advisory data. Source references identify upstream records or fields; verify affected versions and your deployed configuration.

Security context

Source reference: cve:CVE-2026-95832

kitty

Source reference: /containers/cna/affected/0/product

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
Not stated in this record
Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

Structured affected-version data

Original package identities and version rules from this source.

[
  {
    "repo": "https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty",
    "vendor": "Kovid Goyal",
    "product": "kitty",
    "versions": [
      {
        "status": "affected",
        "version": "0.47.3",
        "lessThan": "0.49.0",
        "versionType": "semver"
      }
    ],
    "programFiles": [
      "kitty/window.py",
      "kitty/screen.c"
    ],
    "defaultStatus": "unaffected"
  }
]
Related CVEs
CVE-2026-95832

Source reference: /cveMetadata/cveId

Publisher severity

critical

Source reference: /containers/cna/metrics

Event
#2122 · Revision 1
Added to Heist Feed
Publisher date
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