CVE-2026-48120
Kakoune has a Critical RCE via Autorestore Backup Filename Injection
- Published
- Last modified
- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean? →
- published
- Whether CISA lists it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: proof that attackers are using it.What do these mean? →
- Not listed in CISA KEV
- Fix
- Fixed in 2026.05.21
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
CISA's decision points: whether it is exploited, whether attacks can be automated, and how much control an attacker gets. Assessed (SSVC 2.0.3).What do these mean? →
- Exploitation: none
- Automatable: no
- Technical impact: total
Summary
Kakoune is a code editor. Prior to version 2026.05.21, the bundled, enabled by default, `autorestore.kak` script can be exploited by malicious backup files leading to arbitrary kakoune and shell commands being executed by simply opening a file. Kakoune 2026.05.21 fixes the issue. As a workaround, add `autorestore-disable` to the user kakrc will disable the autorestore feature.
Timeline
- CVE published
- CISA SSVC assessment
Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
- Record last updated
Affected versions
- mawww kakoune
fixed in 2026.05.21