CVE-2026-81856
Terminal escape sequence injection in Hex via unneutralized server-supplied output
Description
Improper Neutralization of Escape, Meta, or Control Sequences vulnerability in hexpm hex allows a malicious package publisher or a hostile repository server to inject terminal control sequences into the output of Mix tasks. Hex prints strings supplied by the package repository and the documentation search service straight to the terminal through Hex.Shell.info/1 and Hex.Shell.error/1, neutralizing no control characters. Affected sinks span package metadata and configuration snippets in mix hex.info, search results in mix hex.package search and mix hex.search, owner and organization listings, publish and sponsor URLs, the authenticated username in mix hex.user, policy identities in mix hex.policy, and API error bodies rendered by Hex.Utils.print_error_result/1. A malicious package can embed ANSI escape sequences (cursor movement, line erase, carriage returns, OSC 52 clipboard writes) or Unicode bidirectional overrides in any of those fields, so the bytes reach the terminal unchanged, forging displayed URLs, package descriptions and suggested commands, concealing real output, or writing to the clipboard. No authentication or privileged position is required; only publishing a package. This issue affects hex: from 0.0.1 before 2.5.2.
INFO
Published Date :
Oct. 12, 2026, 4:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Oct. 12, 2026, 4:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | LOW | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | LOW | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db |
Solution
- Update the hex package to version 2.5.2 or later.
- Ensure packages are from trusted sources.
- Sanitize all external input before displaying.
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-2026-81856.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-81856 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-2026-81856
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-2026-81856 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-81856 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.
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New CVE Received by 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
Oct. 12, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description Improper Neutralization of Escape, Meta, or Control Sequences vulnerability in hexpm hex allows a malicious package publisher or a hostile repository server to inject terminal control sequences into the output of Mix tasks. Hex prints strings supplied by the package repository and the documentation search service straight to the terminal through Hex.Shell.info/1 and Hex.Shell.error/1, neutralizing no control characters. Affected sinks span package metadata and configuration snippets in mix hex.info, search results in mix hex.package search and mix hex.search, owner and organization listings, publish and sponsor URLs, the authenticated username in mix hex.user, policy identities in mix hex.policy, and API error bodies rendered by Hex.Utils.print_error_result/1. A malicious package can embed ANSI escape sequences (cursor movement, line erase, carriage returns, OSC 52 clipboard writes) or Unicode bidirectional overrides in any of those fields, so the bytes reach the terminal unchanged, forging displayed URLs, package descriptions and suggested commands, concealing real output, or writing to the clipboard. No authentication or privileged position is required; only publishing a package. This issue affects hex: from 0.0.1 before 2.5.2. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/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 Added CWE CWE-150 Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/81xxx/CVE-2026-81856.json">CVE-2026-81856</a> Added Reference https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-81856.html Added Reference https://github.com/hexpm/hex/commit/211303e3f68f5d3ce06450c1ff1a7a770a9ab236 Added Reference https://github.com/hexpm/hex/commit/dd3305ddf0032f6d0b468fd40dbbc3072bfcb8b8 Added Reference https://github.com/hexpm/hex/security/advisories/GHSA-fpmj-3cxg-p766 Added Reference https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-81856