PatchSiren

PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2026-40502 HKUDS CVE debrief

CVE-2026-40502 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in OpenHarness prior to commit dd1d235. Remote gateway users with chat access can exploit this vulnerability to invoke sensitive administrative commands. The vulnerability exists due to insufficient distinction between local-only and remote-safe commands in the gateway handler. This issue allows attackers to execute administrative commands such as /permissions full_auto through remote chat sessions, potentially changing permission modes of a running OpenHarness instance without operator authorization. Organizations using OpenHarness in a remote or gateway configuration should be particularly cautious. It is crucial for users of OpenHarness prior to commit dd1d235 to be aware of this vulnerability and take immediate action to patch their installations.

Vendor
HKUDS
Product
OpenHarness
CVSS
HIGH 8.7
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2026-04-16
Original CVE updated
2026-07-14
Advisory published
2026-04-16
Advisory updated
2026-07-14

Who should care

Users of OpenHarness prior to commit dd1d235 should be aware of this vulnerability and take immediate action to patch their installations. This vulnerability is particularly concerning for organizations that use OpenHarness in a remote or gateway configuration.

Technical summary

The CVE-2026-40502 vulnerability is a command injection issue in OpenHarness, a project managed by Hkuds. The vulnerability arises from the gateway handler's inability to properly distinguish between local-only and remote-safe commands. This oversight allows remote gateway users with chat access to execute administrative commands without proper authorization. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS score of 8.7, indicating a high severity level. The CVSS vector is CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X.

Defensive priority

High

Recommended defensive actions

  • Apply the patch referenced in the commit dd1d235
  • Restrict access to the OpenHarness gateway handler
  • Monitor OpenHarness installations for suspicious activity
  • Implement additional security controls to detect and prevent command injection attacks
  • Review and update OpenHarness configurations to ensure proper authorization and access controls

Evidence notes

The CVE-2026-40502 vulnerability was identified in OpenHarness prior to commit dd1d235. The vulnerability allows remote gateway users with chat access to invoke sensitive administrative commands. The CVSS score for this vulnerability is 8.7, indicating a high severity level. The NVD entry for this vulnerability was last modified on 2026-07-14T21:16:48.013Z.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2026-40502 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-40502

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2026-40502 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-40502

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.