Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- A structured source references public exploit or proof-of-concept material.
- EPSS is 0.21% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2026
CVE-2026-72913High confidence
Kitty: Command injection into the child shell via chained @kitty-echo + @kitty-ssh DCS escape sequences
kovidgoyal · kitty
Official source article: GitHub GHSA-CCP2-Q4V6-RW94 ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.
7.3HighCVSS 4.0
Patch only the product branches with a verified fix
Fix availability varies by productHigh technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance. Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 8 structured product or package states remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityHigh→Operational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
- Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
- Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs kovidgoyal kitty and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Remediation availability differs by product scope
Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 8 structured product or package states remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.
- Red Hat Product Security: 6 affected or under-investigation product states without a fixed product state in the same current advisory
- Debian Security Tracker: 2 affected package states with no published fix
Distribution package intelligence
5 package statesRelease-specific package status
Debian, ubuntu findings are scoped to the named distribution, release and source package. An absent finding does not mean a package is unaffected.
Package result overrides the generic status
BlackTree has verified remediation for at least one product or source, but the relevant distribution still reports no fixed package for 2 affected package states shown here. Treat those rows as affected with no fix until that distribution publishes a fixed version.
Repository candidate not checked
A published vendor fix does not prove that a matching update is enabled and installable on a particular asset. Confirm the local package candidate before scheduling remediation.
| Distribution release | Source package | Vendor state | Fixed version | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian trixietrixie · source | kitty | Affected, no fix publishedDebian currently tracks this release as open. | Not published in this feed | Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 6 Oct 2026 |
| Debian bookwormbookworm · source | kitty | Affected, no fix publishedDebian currently tracks this release as open. | Not published in this feed | Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 6 Oct 2026 |
| Debian forkyforky · source | kitty | Vendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release. | 0.48.2-1 | Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 6 Oct 2026 |
| Debian sidsid · source | kitty | Vendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release. | 0.48.2-1 | Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 6 Oct 2026 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTSnoble · esm-apps | kitty | Under evaluationCanonical reports that the package might be affected and still needs evaluation or fixing. | Not published in this feed | Canonical Ubuntu Security ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026 |
Direct vendor intelligence
1 currentAuthoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories
Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.
CVE-2026-72913 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 3 · finalRed Hat Product Securitykitty: Kitty: Arbitrary Code Execution via Chained DCS Escape Sequences
The vendor explicitly identifies these products as affected by this CVE.
- gvisor-tap-vsock as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- gvisor-tap-vsock-gvforwarder as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- gvisor-tap-vsock.src as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- gvisor-tap-vsock as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- gvisor-tap-vsock-gvforwarder as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- gvisor-tap-vsock.src as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Summary
- A flaw was found in Kitty, a cross-platform GPU based terminal. This vulnerability allows an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution by chaining specific escape sequences (`@kitty-echo` and `@kitty-ssh`) when a user displays untrusted terminal data. These sequences write unauthenticated data to the child shell's input, enabling the execution of attacker-controlled commands. This could lead to a complete compromise of the user's system.
- Remediation
- Affected
High technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance. Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 8 structured product or package states remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.
Fix availability varies by product01
What, why and how
Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. Prior to 0.48.2, the @kitty-echo and @kitty-ssh DCS handlers in kitty/window.py write unauthenticated data to the child shell's stdin, where handle_remote_echo accepts printable shell command characters and handle_remote_ssh calls get_ssh_data in kittens/ssh/utils.py, which emits a newline; chaining the handlers can execute attacker-controlled commands when a user displays untrusted terminal data. This issue is fixed in version 0.48.2.
What
Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. Prior to 0.48.2, the @kitty-echo and @kitty-ssh DCS handlers in kitty/window.py write unauthenticated data to the child shell's stdin, where handle_remote_echo accepts printable shell command characters and handle_remote_ssh calls get_ssh_data in kittens/ssh/utils.py, which emits a newline; chaining the handlers can execute attacker-controlled commands when a user displays untrusted terminal data. This issue is fixed in version 0.48.2.
Why
Untrusted input reaches a command interpreter without sufficient validation or separation from command syntax.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation when the stated preconditions are met. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
What
Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. Prior to 0.48.2, the @kitty-echo and @kitty-ssh DCS handlers in kitty/window.py write unauthenticated data to the child shell's stdin, where handle_remote_echo accepts printable shell command characters and handle_remote_ssh calls get_ssh_data in kittens/ssh/utils.py, which emits a newline; chaining the handlers can execute attacker-controlled commands when a user displays untrusted terminal data. This issue is fixed in version 0.48.2.
Why
Untrusted input reaches a command interpreter without sufficient validation or separation from command syntax.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation when the stated preconditions are met. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material Reference recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.CISA Vulnrichment records proof-of-concept exploitation in its SSVC data. BlackTree has not independently executed or validated exploit material.
- Likely attack path
- local access → Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Local
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- Passive interaction required
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Not a CVSS 4.0 base metric
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-77 ↗
CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection'). The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 4.0: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.ATPresentAttack requirements: A particular deployment or execution condition must be present.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UIPassiveUser interaction: A user must unknowingly interact with the vulnerable system.VCHighVulnerable-system confidentiality: A successful attack can cause a major loss.VIHighVulnerable-system integrity: A successful attack can cause a major loss.VAHighVulnerable-system availability: A successful attack can cause a major loss.SCNoneSubsequent-system confidentiality: No direct loss is represented by this metric.SINoneSubsequent-system integrity: No direct loss is represented by this metric.SANoneSubsequent-system availability: No direct loss is represented by this metric.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Fix availability varies by product
- Affected
- gvisor-tap-vsock as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- gvisor-tap-vsock-gvforwarder as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- gvisor-tap-vsock.src as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- gvisor-tap-vsock as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- gvisor-tap-vsock-gvforwarder as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- gvisor-tap-vsock.src as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Fixed
- 0.48.2.
- Action
- Use the product-specific evidence above. Patch only products with a verified fixed release, and keep every affected or under-investigation state without a matching fix in the remediation queue.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 10 Aug 2026 · Last source change 11 Aug 2026, 15:59 UTC · CWE-77 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-55835
Product sourceVendor CSAF · Red Hat Product Security
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · Red Hat Product Security
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD not scheduled
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.
CVE published
Fixed release or patch reference recorded
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.