# CVE-2026-50187: Oh My Zsh: Arbitrary Code Execution in oh-my-zsh dotenv plugin via malicious .env files

> Attackers can execute arbitrary shell commands by placing malicious .env files in directories, affecting users of the Oh My Zsh dotenv plugin.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 18 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 18 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3rgh-p3mg-rjqg

## What is CVE-2026-50187?

CVE-2026-50187 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in ohmyzsh, published on 18 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Oh My Zsh is a community-driven framework for managing Zsh configuration. Prior to 2026-05-28, the dotenv plugin in plugins/dotenv/dotenv.plugin.zsh passes ZSH_DOTENV_FILE to source after a directory change into a folder containing a .env file, allowing syntactically valid shell commands in the file to execute with the current account's privileges, including without a prompt when ZSH_DOTENV_PROMPT=false or after the default prompt accepts an empty Enter response. This issue is fixed in versions released after 2026-05-28.

Weakness: CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-50187?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-50187?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-50187 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-50187 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-50187 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-50187 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-50187 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in ohmyzsh, published on 18 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-50187 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: ohmyzsh. 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-2026-50187/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-50187/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-50187
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-50187
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-50187

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-50187/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.