CVE-2026-32260: Deno Child_process Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-4c96-w8v2-p28j
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CVSS 8.1
CWE-78
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-32260 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.1) child_process vulnerability (CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')) affecting Deno libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves child_process. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.7.2.

CVE-2026-32260 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-32260
GHSA Identifier GHSA-4c96-w8v2-p28j
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.1
CWE Classification CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
Affected Product Deno
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.1

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-32260

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Deno dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

deno fixed: 2.7.2 
Upgrade deno to 2.7.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for deno

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-32260, inspect your project dependencies for Deno:

inspect dependencies for deno

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Deno in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.7.2), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of an os command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended os command when it is sent to a downstream component. In Deno, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

## Summary A command injection vulnerability exists in Deno's `node:child_process` polyfill (`shell: true` mode) that bypasses the fix for CVE-2026-27190 (GHSA-hmh4-3xvx-q5hr). An attacker who controls arguments passed to `spawnSync` or `spawn` with `shell: true` can execute arbitrary OS commands, bypassing Deno's permission system. **Affected versions:** Deno v2.7.0, v2.7.1 ## Details The two-stage argument sanitization in `transformDenoShellCommand` (`ext/node/polyfills/internal/child_process.ts`) has a priority bug: when an argument contains a `$VAR` pattern, it is wrapped in double quotes (L1290) instead of single quotes (L1293). Double quotes in POSIX sh do not suppress backtick command substitution, allowing injected commands to execute. Attack chain: 1. `escapeShellArg` wraps the argument in single quotes (safe) 2. `op_node_parse_shell_args` strips the single-quote delimiters during tokenization (raw argument exposed) 3. Re-quoting detects `$VAR` pattern → applies double quotes 4. Backtick payload inside double quotes executes via `/bin/sh` ## Impact **OS Command Injection (CWE-78)**. Any application using `node:child_process` `spawn`/`spawnSync` with `shell: true` and user-controlled arguments is vulnerable. Injected commands execute at the OS process level, outside Deno's permission sandbox. Only `--allow-run` is required. ## Mitigation Avoid passing user-controlled input as arguments to `spawn`/`spawnSync` with `shell: true`. Use `shell: false` (the default) instead, or validate/sanitize inputs before passing them.

CVE-2026-32260 Affected Deno Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.7.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
deno
 crates.io
≥ 2.7.0
< 2.7.2
2.7.2

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/denoland/deno/security/advisories/GHSA-4c96-w8v2-p28j
NVD — CVE-2026-32260 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32260
Deno Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/denoland/deno

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-32260?
CVE-2026-32260 is a security vulnerability in Deno involving child_process under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection').
Which Deno versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.7.2 across affected packages: deno.
What version fixes CVE-2026-32260?
Upgrading to 2.7.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is deno affected?
Yes, deno is affected in releases prior to 2.7.2. Upgrade your dependency to 2.7.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-32260?
CVE-2026-32260 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-32260?
CVE-2026-32260 is classified under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') (The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2026-32260?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for deno'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-4c96-w8v2-p28j",
  "modified" : "2026-03-13T20:02:18Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-13T20:02:18Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-32260" ],
  "summary" : "Deno vulnerable to command Injection via incomplete shell metacharacter blocklist in node:child_process",
  "details" : "## Summary\n\n  A command injection vulnerability exists in Deno's `node:child_process` polyfill (`shell: true` mode) that bypasses the fix\n  for CVE-2026-27190 (GHSA-hmh4-3xvx-q5hr). An attacker who controls arguments passed to `spawnSync` or `spawn` with `shell:\n  true` can execute arbitrary OS commands, bypassing Deno's permission system.\n\n  **Affected versions:** Deno v2.7.0, v2.7.1\n\n  ## Details\n\n  The two-stage argument sanitization in `transformDenoShellCommand` (`ext/node/polyfills/internal/child_process.ts`) has a\n  priority bug: when an argument contains a `$VAR` pattern, it is wrapped in double quotes (L1290) instead of single quotes\n  (L1293). Double quotes in POSIX sh do not suppress backtick command substitution, allowing injected commands to execute.\n\n  Attack chain:\n  1. `escapeShellArg` wraps the argument in single quotes (safe)\n  2. `op_node_parse_shell_args` strips the single-quote delimiters during tokenization (raw argument exposed)\n  3. Re-quoting detects `$VAR` pattern → applies double quotes\n  4. Backtick payload inside double quotes executes via `/bin/sh`\n\n  ## Impact\n\n  **OS Command Injection (CWE-78)**. Any application using `node:child_process` `spawn`/`spawnSync` with `shell: true` and\n  user-controlled arguments is vulnerable. Injected commands execute at the OS process level, outside Deno's permission\n  sandbox. Only `--allow-run` is required.\n\n  ## Mitigation\n\n  Avoid passing user-controlled input as arguments to `spawn`/`spawnSync` with `shell: true`. Use `shell: false` (the default)\n  instead, or validate/sanitize inputs before passing them.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "deno"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.7.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.7.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/denoland/deno/security/advisories/GHSA-4c96-w8v2-p28j"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32260"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/denoland/deno"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-78" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-13T20:02:18Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-03-12T20:16:06Z"
  }
}