CVE-2026-16770
PDF::WebKit versions through 1.2 for Perl allow argument injection into wkhtmltopdf via meta tags in the source document
Description
PDF::WebKit versions through 1.2 for Perl allow argument injection into wkhtmltopdf via meta tags in the source document. For an HTML string or file source, the constructor collects every <meta name="pdf-webkit-KEY" content="VALUE"> element in the document head through _pdf_webkit_meta_tags and turns each one into a wkhtmltopdf command line option. KEY is normalized to an option name matching --[a-z0-9-]+ but is not checked against an allow list, VALUE is passed through unchanged as the argument that follows it, and a VALUE of "yes" emits the option as a bare flag. BUILD merges the meta derived options last, so they also override the module defaults and the options passed to new. Switches such as --enable-local-file-access and --cookie-jar are reachable this way. The renderer is executed with an argument list rather than a shell command, so this is argument injection and not shell injection. Any caller that renders untrusted HTML lets the document choose the renderer's options and override those set by the application, including options that read local files into the resulting PDF or write to a chosen path. A URL source is not scanned, and the scan is skipped when XML::LibXML, a recommended dependency, is not installed.
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 13, 2026, 12:17 a.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 13, 2026, 12:17 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
9b29abf9-4ab0-4765-b253-1875cd9b441e
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-16770
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
Solution
- Update PDF::WebKit to the latest version.
- Validate all meta tag contents.
- Avoid rendering untrusted HTML.
- Remove meta tags with sensitive options.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-16770.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/kingpong/perl-PDF-WebKit/issues/9 | |
| https://security.metacpan.org/patches/P/PDF-WebKit/1.2/CVE-2026-16770-r1.patch | |
| https://wkhtmltopdf.org/status.html |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-16770 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-16770
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-16770 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-16770 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by 9b29abf9-4ab0-4765-b253-1875cd9b441e
Aug. 13, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'repo': 'https://github.com/kingpong/perl-PDF-WebKit', 'vendor': 'MITHALDU', 'product': 'PDF::WebKit', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0', 'versionType': 'custom', 'lessThanOrEqual': '1.2'}], 'packageName': 'PDF-WebKit', 'programFiles': ['lib/PDF/WebKit.pm'], 'collectionURL': 'https://cpan.org/modules', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected', 'programRoutines': [{'name': 'PDF::WebKit::BUILD'}, {'name': 'PDF::WebKit::_find_options_in_meta'}, {'name': 'PDF::WebKit::_pdf_webkit_meta_tags'}]}] Added Description PDF::WebKit versions through 1.2 for Perl allow argument injection into wkhtmltopdf via meta tags in the source document. For an HTML string or file source, the constructor collects every <meta name="pdf-webkit-KEY" content="VALUE"> element in the document head through _pdf_webkit_meta_tags and turns each one into a wkhtmltopdf command line option. KEY is normalized to an option name matching --[a-z0-9-]+ but is not checked against an allow list, VALUE is passed through unchanged as the argument that follows it, and a VALUE of "yes" emits the option as a bare flag. BUILD merges the meta derived options last, so they also override the module defaults and the options passed to new. Switches such as --enable-local-file-access and --cookie-jar are reachable this way. The renderer is executed with an argument list rather than a shell command, so this is argument injection and not shell injection. Any caller that renders untrusted HTML lets the document choose the renderer's options and override those set by the application, including options that read local files into the resulting PDF or write to a chosen path. A URL source is not scanned, and the scan is skipped when XML::LibXML, a recommended dependency, is not installed. Added CWE CWE-88 Added Reference https://github.com/kingpong/perl-PDF-WebKit/issues/9 Added Reference https://security.metacpan.org/patches/P/PDF-WebKit/1.2/CVE-2026-16770-r1.patch Added Reference https://wkhtmltopdf.org/status.html