# CVE-2026-42601: ArchiveBox Vulnerable to RCE via unvalidated per-crawl config overrides in AddView

> Attackers can achieve remote code execution in ArchiveBox by injecting arbitrary tool arguments via unvalidated per-crawl config overrides in the AddView endpoint.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 May 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3h23-7824-pj8r, PYSEC-2026-283

## What is CVE-2026-42601?

CVE-2026-42601 is a critical command injection vulnerability in ArchiveBox, published on 9 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

ArchiveBox is an open source self-hosted web archiving system. In versions 0.8.6rc0 and prior, the /add/ endpoint (AddView in core/views.py) accepts a config JSON field that gets merged into the crawl config without validation. This config is exported as environment variables when archive plugins run, allowing injection of arbitrary tool arguments to achieve RCE. At time of publication, there are no publicly available patches.

Weakness: CWE-88 (Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-42601?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including archivebox. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `archivebox` | PyPI | All versions to 0.8.6rc0 | None |
| `archivebox` | PyPI | All versions to 0.8.6rc0 | None |
| `archivebox` | PyPI | All versions to 0.8.6rc0 | None |

Products: Archivebox Archivebox.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-42601?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-42601 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-42601 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-42601 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in ArchiveBox

- [CVE-2023-45815](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45815/): Viewing wget extractor output while logged in as an admin allows archived JS to execute in the admins context (medium 6.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-42601 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-42601 is a critical command injection vulnerability in ArchiveBox, published on 9 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-42601 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- archivebox (PyPI): affected all versions up to 0.8.6rc0; no fix listed
- archivebox (PyPI): affected all versions up to 0.8.6rc0; no fix listed
- archivebox (PyPI): affected all versions up to 0.8.6rc0; no fix listed

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-2026-42601/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-42601/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-42601
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42601
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-42601

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-42601/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.