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CactiApplication

CVE-2026-40079

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.2.31 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available 8 weeks old

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Cacti is an open source performance and fault management framework. Versions 1.2.30 and prior are vulnerable to Command Injection due to lack of sanitization in the escape_command() function. The escape_command() function at lib/rrd.php is a no-op: it returns $command unchanged. The command line built by rrdtool_function_graph() is passed through this function and then to shell_exec($full_commandline). The risk is in __rrd_execute() where text_format values from graph templates (which may contain host variable substitutions) reach shell_exec without adequate escaping. This issue has been addressed in version 1.2.31.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Cacti versions 1.2.30 and prior contain a command injection vulnerability where the escape_command() function in lib/rrd.php is a no-op that returns input unchanged. Text_format values from graph templates containing host variable substitutions reach shell_exec() without proper sanitization, allowing arbitrary command execution.

MitigationUpgrade Cacti to version 1.2.31 or later. As an interim measure, restrict access to the Cacti web interface and disable or carefully control graph template text_format configurations that could inject variables.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
CactiApplication
Affected:< 1.2.31

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Cacti version
    Check the installed Cacti version (typically visible on the Cacti login page footer or in include/global_arrays.php). Compare it against the affected range: versions prior to 1.2.31 are vulnerable.
    Affected if Installed version is 1.2.30 or prior, or any version shown as < 1.2.31
  2. Locate vulnerable escape_command function
    Inspect the file lib/rrd.php in the Cacti installation directory. Locate the escape_command() function definition and examine whether it performs any sanitization or returns input unchanged.
    Affected if The escape_command() function exists but performs no sanitization (returns input unchanged or is a no-op)
  3. Examine graph template text_format configurations
    Access Cacti web interface, navigate to Templates > Graph Templates. Review any custom graph templates for text_format fields that contain host variable substitutions (such as $|host_| or similar host-related variables).
    Affected if Graph templates contain text_format fields with host variable substitutions that could be interpreted by shell_exec()
  4. Verify web interface accessibility
    Determine if the Cacti web interface is exposed to untrusted networks or if authentication is enforced. The vulnerability requires access to the web interface to trigger the command injection through graph template configuration.
    Affected if Cacti web interface is accessible to untrusted users without proper access controls

A system is affected if it runs Cacti version 1.2.30 or prior AND has graph templates with text_format host variable substitutions accessible via the web interface, allowing the escape_command() bypass in lib/rrd.php to reach shell_exec().

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.2.31 or later
Fixed in 1.2.31
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Cacti to version 1.2.31 or later. As an interim measure, restrict access to the Cacti web interface and disable or carefully control graph template text_format configurations that could inject variables.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.2.31

  1. 1. Back up your Cacti installation and database before proceeding with any upgrade
  2. 2. Download Cacti version 1.2.31 from the official Cacti website or GitHub releases
  3. 3. Extract the new version files to your web server document root
  4. 4. Run any required database upgrade scripts (refer to the upgrade documentation included in the release)
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by logging into the Cacti web interface
  6. 6. Test graph generation to confirm the vulnerability has been patched
Caveat Review the Cacti 1.2.31 release notes for any breaking changes from your current version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Cacti Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-40079 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data