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PDF /GoToR action argv injection enables single-click RCE via --gtk-module dlopen

Type: advisorySources: OSV

Atril Document Viewer is the default document reader of the MATE desktop environment for Linux. A single-click remote code execution vulnerability in versions prior to 1.26.3 and 1.28.4 allows an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution as the user by tricking them into clicking a link inside a malicious PDF document. The PDF can be packaged as a polyglot file that is simultaneously a valid PDF and a valid ELF shared library, making the attack a single-file, single-click, configuration-independent RCE on stock atril installations. The root cause is `shell/ev-application.c:ev_spawn`, which builds a command line from attacker-controlled PDF link-destination fields without applying `g_shell_quote`. The cmdline is then handed to `g_app_info_create_from_commandline`, which shell-parses it back into argv — splitting any embedded `--gtk-module=PATH` into a separate argv element. GTK then `dlopen()`s the path during init, running any `__attribute__((constructor))` it finds. Versions 1.26.3 and 1.28.4 contain a patch for the issue. This is the same defect class as CVE-2023-51698 (CBT `--checkpoint-action` injection in `comics-document.c`, fixed in 1.6.2) but in a different code path (`shell/ev-application.c`) that the original patch did not touch.

Products
Not specified
Affected versions
Not specified
Fixed versions
Not specified
CVEs
CVE-2026-46529
Confirmed fixed CVEs
Not specified
Updated in this feed
4 Nov 2026, 23:40 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

PDF /GoToR action argv injection enables single-click RCE via --gtk-module dlopen

core-osv · Original source

Published 10 Jun 2026, 19:46 UTC

Atril Document Viewer is the default document reader of the MATE desktop environment for Linux. A single-click remote code execution vulnerability in versions prior to 1.26.3 and 1.28.4 allows an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution as the user by tricking them into clicking a link inside a malicious PDF document. The PDF can be packaged as a polyglot file that is simultaneously a valid PDF and a valid ELF shared library, making the attack a single-file, single-click, configuration-independent RCE on stock atril installations. The root cause is `shell/ev-application.c:ev_spawn`, which builds a command line from attacker-controlled PDF link-destination fields without applying `g_shell_quote`. The cmdline is then handed to `g_app_info_create_from_commandline`, which shell-parses it back into argv — splitting any embedded `--gtk-module=PATH` into a separate argv element. GTK then `dlopen()`s the path during init, running any `__attribute__((constructor))` it finds. Versions 1.26.3 and 1.28.4 contain a patch for the issue. This is the same defect class as CVE-2023-51698 (CBT `--checkpoint-action` injection in `comics-document.c`, fixed in 1.6.2) but in a different code path (`shell/ev-application.c`) that the original patch did not touch.

osv:CVE-2026-46529
Complete source record
{
  "id": "c734d97ecc462efa82a93bb31609990824ff0168e91c357b1508ae633bc86674",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-46529",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "PDF /GoToR action argv injection enables single-click RCE via --gtk-module dlopen",
    "summary": "Atril Document Viewer is the default document reader of the MATE desktop environment for Linux. A single-click remote code execution vulnerability in versions prior to 1.26.3 and 1.28.4 allows an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution as the user by tricking them into clicking a link inside a malicious PDF document. The PDF can be packaged as a polyglot file that is simultaneously a valid PDF and a valid ELF shared library, making the attack a single-file, single-click, configuration-independent RCE on stock atril installations. The root cause is `shell/ev-application.c:ev_spawn`, which builds a command line from attacker-controlled PDF link-destination fields without applying `g_shell_quote`. The cmdline is then handed to `g_app_info_create_from_commandline`, which shell-parses it back into argv — splitting any embedded `--gtk-module=PATH` into a separate argv element. GTK then `dlopen()`s the path during init, running any `__attribute__((constructor))` it finds. Versions 1.26.3 and 1.28.4 contain a patch for the issue. This is the same defect class as CVE-2023-51698 (CBT `--checkpoint-action` injection in `comics-document.c`, fixed in 1.6.2) but in a different code path (`shell/ev-application.c`) that the original patch did not touch.",
    "evidence": "osv:CVE-2026-46529",
    "products": [],
    "severity": "high",
    "structured": {
      "id": "CVE-2026-46529",
      "aliases": [
        "CVE-2026-46529",
        "GHSA-vgv2-m826-8f6f"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V4",
          "score": "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"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "repo": "https://github.com/mate-desktop/atril",
              "type": "GIT",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "41aad6fa02755dd89013353dbd42c4d69b7cfd76"
                },
                {
                  "introduced": "6ba899248d5f12c9bafaeba9ba371dd7007a9049"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "76d0cc7230f4ada3488020c63995bb474b8fe4c6"
                }
              ],
              "database_specific": {
                "extracted_events": [
                  {
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "introduced": "0"
                      },
                      {
                        "fixed": "1.26.3"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "AFFECTED_FIELD",
                    "strategy": "StringRangeExpression"
                  },
                  {
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "introduced": "1.27.0"
                      },
                      {
                        "fixed": "1.28.4"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "AFFECTED_FIELD",
                    "strategy": "StringRangeExpression"
                  },
                  {
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "fixed": "41aad6fa02755dd89013353dbd42c4d69b7cfd76"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "REFERENCES_TAG",
                    "original_tag": "v1.26.3"
                  },
                  {
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "fixed": "76d0cc7230f4ada3488020c63995bb474b8fe4c6"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "REFERENCES_TAG",
                    "original_tag": "v1.28.4"
                  }
                ]
              }
            }
          ],
          "versions": [
            "v1.28.3",
            "v1.28.2",
            "v1.28.1",
            "v1.28.0",
            "v1.27.1",
            "v1.26.2",
            "v1.26.1",
            "v1.27.0",
            "v1.26.0",
            "v1.25.1",
            "v1.25.0",
            "v1.24.0",
            "v1.23.2",
            "v1.23.1",
            "v1.23.0",
            "v1.22.0",
            "v1.21.1",
            "v1.21.0",
            "v1.20.0",
            "v1.19.6",
            "v1.19.5",
            "v1.19.4",
            "v1.19.3",
            "v1.19.2",
            "v1.19.1",
            "v1.19.0",
            "v1.18.0",
            "v1.17.1",
            "v1.16.1",
            "v1.17.0",
            "v1.16.0",
            "v1.15.3",
            "v1.15.2",
            "v1.15.1",
            "v1.15.0",
            "v1.14.1",
            "v1.14.0",
            "v1.13.1",
            "v1.13.0",
            "v1.12.0",
            "atril-1.12.0",
            "atril-1.11.0",
            "atril-1.10.1",
            "atril-1.10.0",
            "atril-1.9.90",
            "atril-1.9.2",
            "atril-1.9.1",
            "atril-1.9.0",
            "atril-1.8.0",
            "atril-1.7.90",
            "atril-1.7.2",
            "atril-1.7.1",
            "atril-1.7.0",
            "mate-document-viewer-1.6.1",
            "mate-document-viewer-1.6.0",
            "mate-document-viewer-1.5.0",
            "mate-document-viewer-1.4.0",
            "atril-1.2.1",
            "atril-1.2.0",
            "mate-document-viewer-1.1.1",
            "mate-document-viewer-1.1.0"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2026-46529.json"
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-28T02:30:40.349103082Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "references": [
        "https://github.com/mate-desktop/atril/releases/tag/v1.26.3",
        "https://github.com/mate-desktop/atril/releases/tag/v1.28.4",
        "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2026/05/msg00041.html",
        "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2026/05/msg00042.html",
        "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2026/06/msg00021.html",
        "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-46529.json",
        "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:27819",
        "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:28998",
        "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:33169",
        "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:33416",
        "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:39115",
        "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:41904",
        "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:42692",
        "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:43398",
        "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:46467",
        "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-46529",
        "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/46xxx/CVE-2026-46529.json",
        "https://github.com/mate-desktop/atril/security/advisories/GHSA-vgv2-m826-8f6f",
        "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46529",
        "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2487669"
      ],
      "provider_metadata": {
        "cwe_ids": [
          "CWE-77",
          "CWE-829",
          "CWE-88"
        ],
        "cna_assigner": "GitHub_M",
        "osv_generated_from": "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/46xxx/CVE-2026-46529.json"
      }
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2026-46529",
        "evidence": "/id"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 508075,
  "published_at": "2026-06-10T19:46:23.639+00:00"
}