CVE-2026-41253
iTerm2 SSH Conductor Protocol Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Description
In iTerm2 through 3.6.9, displaying a .txt file can cause code execution via DCS 2000p and OSC 135 data, if the working directory contains a malicious file whose name is valid output from the conductor encoding path, such as a pathname with an initial ace/c+ substring, aka "hypothetical in-band signaling abuse." This occurs because iTerm2 accepts the SSH conductor protocol from terminal output that does not originate from a legitimate conductor session.
INFO
Published Date :
April 18, 2026, 6:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
April 18, 2026, 6:16 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-41253
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
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | 8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | MITRE-CVE |
Solution
- Update iTerm2 to the latest version.
- Avoid displaying untrusted .txt files in iTerm2.
- Sanitize terminal output for malicious code.
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-2026-41253.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-41253 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-2026-41253
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-2026-41253 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-41253 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 [email protected]
Apr. 18, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In iTerm2 through 3.6.9, displaying a .txt file can cause code execution via DCS 2000p and OSC 135 data, if the working directory contains a malicious file whose name is valid output from the conductor encoding path, such as a pathname with an initial ace/c+ substring, aka "hypothetical in-band signaling abuse." This occurs because iTerm2 accepts the SSH conductor protocol from terminal output that does not originate from a legitimate conductor session. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L Added CWE CWE-829 Added Reference https://blog.calif.io/p/mad-bugs-even-cat-readmetxt-is-not Added Reference https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2/commit/a9e745993c2e2cbb30b884a16617cd5495899f86 Added Reference https://iterm2.com/downloads.html Added Reference https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47809190