Command InjectionWeakness · CWE-77

CVE-2026-5621

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
55/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A vulnerability was found in ChrisChinchilla Vale-MCP up to 0.1.0. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the file src/index.ts of the component HTTP Interface. The manipulation of the argument config_path results in os command injection. Attacking locally is a requirement. The exploit has been made public and could be used. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

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 · moderate confidence

Command injection vulnerability in Vale-MCP (up to 0.1.0) allows execution of arbitrary OS commands through the config_path argument in the HTTP Interface component (src/index.ts). The vulnerability requires local access to exploit.

MitigationImplement strict input validation and sanitization on the config_path parameter, preferably using allowlists or path normalization to prevent command injection. Avoid passing user-controlled input directly to OS command execution functions.

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

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

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. Confirm Vale-MCP is installed
    Run `npm list vale-mcp` or check for vale-mcp in your node_modules, or look for the vale-mcp executable/service in your environment
    Affected if Vale-MCP is not present in the environment, the system is not affected
  2. Identify the installed Vale-MCP version
    Run `npm list vale-mcp` or `vale-mcp --version` to get the version number, then compare it to any official version releases of Vale-MCP
    Affected if The installed version has not received a fix for the command injection in src/index.ts
  3. Verify the HTTP interface is enabled
    Check your Vale-MCP configuration or startup flags for HTTP server settings (--http-port, --http-host, or similar HTTP-related flags in your config)
    Affected if The HTTP interface is enabled and accessible, making the config_path parameter reachable
  4. Inspect src/index.ts for config_path handling
    Locate the Vale-MCP source code in node_modules/vale-mcp/src/index.ts and search for 'config_path' to see how it is processed and whether it is sanitized before being used in command execution
    Affected if The code shows config_path is passed directly to a command execution function (such as exec, spawn, or shell) without sanitization or validation checks
  5. Test for command injection vulnerability
    If you have access to the HTTP interface, send a crafted request with a config_path value containing shell metacharacters (e.g., `config_path=file.txt;whoami`) and observe if the appended command executes
    Affected if The HTTP interface reflects the injected command in the response or executes the appended command, confirming the vulnerability is present

The environment is affected if Vale-MCP is running with its HTTP interface enabled and the config_path parameter can be manipulated to inject OS commands due to lack of sanitization in src/index.ts.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement strict input validation and sanitization on the config_path parameter, preferably using allowlists or path normalization to prevent command injection. Avoid passing user-controlled input directly to OS command execution functions.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2026-5621 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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