Code Injection in hydra-core (CVE-2026-68508)
Summary
Code injection in hydra-core (CVE-2026-68508). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. Exploitable via _target_. Mitigation: upgrade to 1.3.4 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
Summary
hydra.utils.instantiate() resolves and calls Python objects from config. If an
application passes untrusted config to instantiate(), an attacker who controls
_target_ and its arguments can cause arbitrary code execution in the consuming
process.
Hydra is not a network service. Exploitation requires a consuming application,
library, or user workflow to load attacker-controlled config, CLI overrides, or
model metadata and pass it to hydra.utils.instantiate().
Details
Hydra's instantiate API is designed to construct objects and call functions from
configuration. For example:
component:
_target_: package.module.Class
arg: value
When this config is passed to hydra.utils.instantiate(), Hydra resolves
_target_ and calls it with the provided arguments.
This is intended for trusted application configuration. However, if untrusted
input controls _target_, the config becomes a callable-selection mechanism. A
malicious config can select a callable capable of executing code or commands and
provide attacker-controlled arguments.
This issue is the same general class of problem discussed by Unit 42 for
downstream AI/ML libraries such as NVIDIA NeMo, where untrusted model metadata
was passed into Hydra instantiate:
https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/rce-vulnerabilities-in-ai-python-libraries/
Hydra 1.3.4 includes a blacklist for some dangerous _target_ values. That
blacklist is defense-in-depth and is not a complete security boundary. T…
Source: GitHub Security Advisories (Global) 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-2026-68508 has been found in hydra-core.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like _target_ over the network to misuse the product.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 7.8/10.
What to do: upgrade hydra-core to 1.3.4 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "hydra-core CVE-2026-68508" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-68508 (hydra-core) — CWE-94 / CVSS v3 7.8
Attack vector: local / unauthenticated
Attack surface: _target_
Patched: 1.3.4 — 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.
Arbitrary code execution (CWE-94) exists in hydra-core. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via _target_ without authentication.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of hydra-core. Attack surface: _target_.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.8/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to 1.3.4.
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 'hydra-core' . 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
-
1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'hydra-core' . | 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
hydra-core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 hydra-core to 1.3.4ステージング環境で 1.3.4 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。