CVE-2026-42850

Kitty has a shell command injection

HIGH
8.8
CVSS Score
Published: June 12, 2026 at 07:59 PM UTC
Updated: October 26, 2026 at 11:10 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorKitty

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Severity
HIGH8.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.3%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. In versions prior to 0.47.0, it is possible to inject commands within the subshell through kitty error. A special escape code will make kitty return an error, this error is not escaped and will be correctly echoed back to the terminal with CRLF, as such it will be run by the shell in use. To exploit this bug, the victim must use a netcat or a similar program to connect to the attacker, or else listening for someone to connect. Once this condition is set, an attacker could pwn the computer of the victim using a special kitty's escape code that will run a command in the shell in use. Version 04.7.0 fixes the issue.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 0.47.0
Affected range stops below 0.47.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (1)

x_refsource_CONFIRMExploitVendor Advisory
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/security/advisories/GHSA-p64q-59hq-5q65

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-77

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