CVE-2026-5208
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 · uneditedCommand injection in alerts in CoolerControl/coolercontrold <4.0.0 allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code as root via injected bash commands in alert names
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 confidenceCommand injection vulnerability in the alerts feature of CoolerControl allows authenticated users to inject and execute arbitrary bash commands through alert names. The unsanitized input is passed to a system shell, and since the service runs as root, attackers achieve full root code execution.
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>= 3.1.0, <= 4.0.0CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify CoolerControl daemon is installedRun `dpkg -l | grep coolercontrol` or `rpm -qa | grep coolercontrol` or check for running process with `ps aux | grep coolercontrold`Affected if The software is not installed on the system
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Check installed Coolercontrold versionRun `dpkg -l | grep coolercontrold` or query the daemon version via its API or systemd service: `systemctl show coolercontrold`Affected if Installed version is >= 3.1.0 AND <= 4.0.0 (both bounds inclusive)
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Locate alert configuration storageCheck common config directories: typically `/etc/coolercontrol/` or `~/.config/coolercontrol/` for alert JSON/YAML filesAffected if Alert configuration files exist on the system
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Inspect alert name fields for shell metacharactersExamine alert config files and look for alert name entries containing characters like `;`, `|`, `&`, `$()`, backticks, or other shell injection patternsAffected if Any alert name contains suspicious shell metacharacters typically used in command injection
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Review CoolerControl service privilegesCheck service configuration: `systemctl status coolercontrold` and verify if it runs as root userAffected if The coolercontrold service runs with root privileges
You are affected if Coolercontrold is installed with version between 3.1.0 and 4.0.0 inclusive, and the alert system with elevated privileges is in use.
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 · scopedUpgrade to CoolerControl version 4.0.0 or later. If upgrading is not immediately possible, implement input validation to sanitize alert names and prevent shell metacharacter injection.
CoolerControl/coolercontrold version 4.0.0 or later
- Verify current installed version by running `coolercontrold --version` or checking the application
- Backup any custom configurations or alert settings before upgrading
- Upgrade to CoolerControl version 4.0.0 or later using the appropriate package manager or installation method (e.g., `pip install coolercontrol --upgrade`, `apt update && apt upgrade coolercontrold`, or equivalent for your distribution)
- Restart the coolercontrold service after upgrade: `sudo systemctl restart coolercontrold`
- Verify the new version is installed: `coolercontrold --version`
- Test that alert functionality works correctly with the new version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-5208 — 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-2026-5208 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data