# CVE-2026-19590: Code injection in Codex Desktop

> OpenAI Codex Desktop allows arbitrary code execution via malicious Git hooks when opening attacker-controlled repositories, bypassing sandbox restrictions.

- **Severity:** High 7.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 1 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 3 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-433v-pqvh-w4gj

## What is CVE-2026-19590?

CVE-2026-19590 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in OpenAI Codex Desktop, published on 1 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

OpenAI Codex Desktop for Windows and macOS could execute attacker-controlled Git hooks because automated Git operations trusted the repository's local core.hooksPath setting. If a user opens an attacker-prepared repository whose preserved .git/config points core.hooksPath to an attacker-controlled directory, Codex can run a malicious hook while processing the repository. The hook executes outside Codex's command sandbox, without user approval, and with the user's privileges, allowing it to read, change, or delete the user's files and access other resources available to the user's account. An ordinary Git clone does not preserve the attacker-controlled repository-local configuration required for exploitation.

Weakness: CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-19590?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-19590?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-19590 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-19590 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-19590 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-19590 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-19590 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in OpenAI Codex Desktop, published on 1 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-19590 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: OpenAI Codex Desktop. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-19590/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-19590/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-19590
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-19590
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-19590

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-19590/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.