Vulnerability in exiftool-vendored (CVE-2026-43893)
Summary
Vulnerability in exiftool-vendored (CVE-2026-43893). Data can be tampered with by attackers. Exploitable via WriteTask. Mitigation: upgrade to 35.19.0 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
exiftool-vendored provides cross-platform Node.js access to ExifTool. Prior to 35.19.0, exiftool-vendored starts ExifTool in -stay_open True -@ - mode, where arguments are read from stdin one per line. In affected versions, several caller-supplied strings were interpolated into ExifTool arguments without rejecting line delimiters. A newline or carriage return inside one of those strings could split a single intended argument into multiple ExifTool arguments, allowing argument injection. The fix also rejects NUL bytes as unsafe control characters. Applications that pass attacker-controlled strings to affected APIs may allow an attacker to make ExifTool read files accessible to the ExifTool process, or write output to attacker-chosen file system paths accessible to that process. No remote code execution has been demonstrated. This vulnerability is fixed in 35.19.0.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-43893 has been found in exiftool-vendored.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like WriteTask over the network to misuse the product.
Data can be tampered with by attackers. CVSS score: 8.2/10.
What to do: upgrade exiftool-vendored to 35.19.0 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "exiftool-vendored CVE-2026-43893" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-43893 (exiftool-vendored) — CWE-88 / CVSS v3 8.2
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated / no user interaction
Attack surface: WriteTask / tags / retain / numericTags
Patched: 35.19.0 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (CWE-88) exists in exiftool-vendored. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via WriteTask without authentication.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of exiftool-vendored. Attack surface: WriteTask / tags / retain / numericTags.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.2/10). Data can be tampered with by attackers.
Update to 35.19.0.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'exiftool-vendored' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
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1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'exiftool-vendored' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
exiftool-vendoredを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Apply patch patch
Upgrade exiftool-vendored to 35.19.0ステージング環境で 35.19.0 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
-
3Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
References
- advisory github.com
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- advisory github.com
- package github.com
- web exiftool.org
- web exiftool.org
- web github.com