CVE-2026-44301
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 · uneditedHugo is a static site generator. From 0.43 to before 0.161.0, when building a Hugo site that uses Node-based asset pipelines (PostCSS, Babel, TailwindCSS), Hugo invoked the configured Node tools without restrictions on file system access. As a result, executing hugo against an untrusted site could allow code running through these tools to read or write files outside the project's working directory. Users who do not use PostCSS, Babel, or TailwindCSS, or who only build trusted sites, are not affected. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.161.0.
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 confidenceHugo static site generator (versions 0.43 to before 0.161.0) contains a path traversal vulnerability when using Node-based asset pipelines (PostCSS, Babel, TailwindCSS). The Node tools are invoked without restrictions on file system access, allowing arbitrary file read/write operations outside the project's working directory.
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>= 0.43, < 0.161.0CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed Hugo versionRun 'hugo version' in the terminal to obtain the exact version numberAffected if The version shown is 0.43 or higher but lower than 0.161.0
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Check for PostCSS configurationInspect the project root for 'postcss.config.js' or PostCSS configuration in 'config.toml', 'config.yaml', or 'config.json'Affected if A PostCSS configuration file exists and Hugo is in the affected version range
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Check for Babel configurationInspect the project root for '.babelrc', 'babel.config.js', or any Babel-related configuration in the Hugo config filesAffected if Babel configuration files exist and Hugo is in the affected version range
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Check for TailwindCSS configurationInspect the project root for 'tailwind.config.js' or 'tailwind.config.ts'Affected if A TailwindCSS configuration file exists and Hugo is in the affected version range
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Verify asset pipeline is actually used in buildSearch Hugo template files (*.html) for references to the PostCSS, Babel, or TailwindCSS processing hooks such as 'postcss', 'babel', or 'css' asset functionsAffected if Templates invoke asset pipeline functions that trigger Node-based processing and Hugo version is affected
A user is affected if Hugo version is 0.43 or higher but below 0.161.0 AND one or more Node-based asset pipelines (PostCSS, Babel, TailwindCSS) are configured and actively used in the project.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped0.161.0
Upgrade Hugo to version 0.161.0 or later. If upgrading is not feasible, disable or avoid using PostCSS, Babel, or TailwindCSS with untrusted site sources.
0.161.0 or later
- Upgrade Hugo to version 0.161.0 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-44301 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-44301 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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