CVE-2020-26284 Hugo can execute a binary from the current directory on Windows
Attackers can execute arbitrary binaries on Windows by placing malicious files in the current directory when running Hugo.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2020-26284?
CVE-2020-26284 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in gohugoio hugo, published on 21 Dec 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
Hugo is a fast and Flexible Static Site Generator built in Go. Hugo depends on Go's `os/exec` for certain features, e.g. for rendering of Pandoc documents if these binaries are found in the system `%PATH%` on Windows. In Hugo before version 0.79.1, if a malicious file with the same name (`exe` or `bat`) is found in the current working directory at the time of running `hugo`, the malicious command will be invoked instead of the system one. Windows users who run `hugo` inside untrusted Hugo sites are affected. Users should upgrade to Hugo v0.79.1. Other than avoiding untrusted Hugo sites, there is no workaround.
Weakness: CWE-78
Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-26284?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/gohugoio/hugo. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/gohugoio/hugo Go | All versions | 0.79.1 |
github.com/gohugoio/hugo Go | All versions | 0.79.1 |
Products include Gohugo Hugo.
How do I fix CVE-2020-26284?
Upgrade github.com/gohugoio/hugo to 0.79.1 or later.
Upgrade, and pass arguments to programs as a list instead of through a shell. More about Command injection.
Is CVE-2020-26284 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-26284 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in gohugoio hugo
- CVE-2026-75926 Hugo 0.162.0 to 0.164.x - Node Permission Model Bypass via Default TailwindCSS Child-Process Grant
- CVE-2026-100690 Hugo v0.161.0 to v0.165.0 Arbitrary File Read via Symlinks
- CVE-2026-100692 Hugo before v0.166.0 Path Traversal via Symlinked Mount Roots
- CVE-2026-100693 Hugo v0.162.0 before v0.166.0 IP-literal Deny Rule Bypass
- CVE-2026-50135 Hugo: Symlink confinement bypass in resources.Get
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2020-26284, GHSA-8j34-9876-pvfq.