# CVE-2026-44972: GuardDog: Unsanitized human-readable scan output allows terminal escape injection from malicious package content

> Attackers can inject terminal escape sequences via malicious package content, potentially executing code or manipulating logs in analyst terminals.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 27 May 2026
- **Updated:** 27 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m5p4-gvpx-4mvr, PYSEC-2026-2506

## What is CVE-2026-44972?

CVE-2026-44972 is a medium-severity vulnerability in DataDog guarddog, published on 27 May 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

GuardDog is a CLI tool to identify malicious PyPI packages. From 2.6.0 to 2.9.0, GuardDog includes attacker-controlled filenames, file locations, messages, and code snippets in its default human-readable output without escaping terminal control characters. A malicious package can therefore inject ANSI or OSC escape sequences into analyst terminals or CI logs.

Weakness: CWE-116 (Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44972?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including guarddog.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `guarddog` | PyPI | From 2.6.0 to 2.9.0 | None |
| `guarddog` | PyPI | From 2.6.0 to 2.9.0 | None |
| `guarddog` | PyPI | From 2.6.0 to 2.9.0 | None |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-44972?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-44972 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-44972 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-44972 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-44972 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-44972 is a medium-severity vulnerability in DataDog guarddog, published on 27 May 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-2026-44972 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- guarddog (PyPI): affected from 2.6.0 up to 2.9.0; no fix listed
- guarddog (PyPI): affected from 2.6.0 up to 2.9.0; no fix listed
- guarddog (PyPI): affected from 2.6.0 up to 2.9.0; 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-2026-44972/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44972/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44972
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44972
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-44972

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44972/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.