dbcve.org
OS Command InjectionWeakness · CWE-78

CVE-2026-44590

CRITICAL · 9.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
Sherlock hunts down social media accounts by username across social networks. Prior to 0.16.1, the GitHub Actions workflow validate_modified_targets.yml is vulnerable to command injection via the pull_request_target trigger. Any GitHub user can execute arbitrary commands on the CI runner and exfiltrate the GITHUB_TOKEN by opening a pull request. No approval, review, or merge is required. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.16.1.

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

The Sherlock project contains a command injection vulnerability in the GitHub Actions workflow validate_modified_targets.yml. Due to improper handling of inputs in the pull_request_target trigger, any GitHub user can open a malicious pull request to execute arbitrary commands on the CI runner and exfiltrate the GITHUB_TOKEN without any approval or review.

MitigationUpgrade to version 0.16.1 or later which contains the fix. Additionally, review the vulnerable workflow file to understand what sanitization or changes were made to prevent command injection.

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

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
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/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 checks

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

  1. Locate the vulnerable workflow file
    Search the repository for a file named validate_modified_targets.yml in the .github/workflows/ directory
    Affected if The file exists in the repository and uses pull_request_target as the trigger
  2. Identify the workflow trigger
    Open validate_modified_targets.yml and examine the 'on:' section to confirm it uses pull_request_target
    Affected if The workflow uses pull_request_target trigger without additional restrictions like required reviewers or branch protections
  3. Examine input handling in the workflow
    Review the workflow YAML for uses of ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }} or ${{ github.event.pull_request.title }} or similar inputs that are used in shell commands or script steps without sanitization
    Affected if User-controlled pull request data (branch names, titles, or other PR metadata) is directly interpolated into run steps or script actions without validation
  4. Check for command execution vectors
    Look for 'run:' steps or uses of actions that execute shell commands, particularly those that concatenate or interpolate PR-related variables into command strings
    Affected if The workflow executes shell commands constructed from unsanitized pull request inputs
  5. Verify workflow permissions
    Examine the permissions section or check if GITHUB_TOKEN is available to the workflow (default read-write on pull_request_target)
    Affected if The workflow has access to GITHUB_TOKEN which can be exfiltrated by the attacker

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to version 0.16.1 or later which contains the fix. Additionally, review the vulnerable workflow file to understand what sanitization or changes were made to prevent command injection.

Recommended fix High confidence

0.16.1

  1. Upgrade Sherlock to version 0.16.1 or later by pulling the latest release from the official repository
  2. If using GitHub Actions, update your workflow to reference version 0.16.1 or the latest tag of the sherlock-project/sherlock repository
  3. Verify the workflow file validate_modified_targets.yml has been updated to use the patched version
  4. As a precautionary measure, review and rotate any GitHub tokens or credentials that may have been exposed on the CI runner prior to the upgrade

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2026-44590 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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