CVE-2026-72573 4xmen CVE debrief

Who should care

System administrators and security teams responsible for managing and securing systems that use the 4xmen/pm2panel application should be aware of this vulnerability. Immediate attention is required to prevent potential exploitation.

Technical summary

The CVE-2026-72573 vulnerability is an OS command injection issue in the 4xmen/pm2panel application. The vulnerability exists in the pm2panel.js file at line 188, where the req.query.id parameter is passed directly to the exec('pm2 restart ' + id) function without proper input validation or shell escaping. This allows an authenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary system commands on the host by chaining commands via semicolons or other shell metacharacters.

Defensive priority

Authenticated remote attackers may execute arbitrary system commands due to OS command injection vulnerability in pm2panel. Immediate defensive actions are required.

Recommended defensive actions

• Inventory and verify affected systems for pm2panel usage.
• Restrict access to authenticated users and limit command execution privileges.
• Implement input validation and shell escaping for req.query.id parameter.
• Monitor for suspicious system command execution activity.
• Apply vendor remediation or patches when available.

Evidence notes

The CVE-2026-72573 record indicates an OS command injection vulnerability in 4xmen/pm2panel. The vulnerability allows an authenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary system commands on the host. The pm2panel.js handler at line 188 passes the unsanitized req.query.id parameter directly to exec('pm2 restart ' + id) without input validation or shell escaping.

Official resources