CVE-2026-70609 Electron: DevTools JavaScript Injection via Unsanitized Dock State Parameter
Attackers can inject JavaScript into Electron DevTools via unsanitized parameters, potentially executing code in the Node.js context if sandboxing is disabled.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-70609?
CVE-2026-70609 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Electronjs Electron, published on 5 Aug 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
Electron is a framework for writing cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Prior to 39.8.7, 40.9.0, 41.2.0, and 42.0.0-beta.1, the mode option of webContents.openDevTools() was not sanitized before use by the DevTools frontend. If an attacker can influence this value, script under their control may run in the DevTools context, which in unsandboxed configurations has access to Node.js, including when untrusted input reaches the mode argument of openDevTools() or untrusted content calls openDevTools() on a webview it embeds. This issue is fixed in 39.8.7, 40.9.0, 41.2.0, and 42.0.0-beta.1.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-70609?
8 open source packages ship an affected version, including electron. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
electron npm | All versions | 39.8.7 |
electron npm | All versions | 39.8.7 |
electron npm | From 40.0.0-alpha.1 | 40.9.0 |
electron npm | From 40.0.0-alpha.1 | 40.9.0 |
electron npm | From 41.0.0-alpha.1 | 41.2.0 |
electron npm | From 41.0.0-alpha.1 | 41.2.0 |
2 more packages
electron npm | From 42.0.0-alpha.1 | 42.0.0-beta.1 |
electron npm | From 42.0.0-alpha.1 | 42.0.0-beta.1 |
Products include Electronjs Electron.
How do I fix CVE-2026-70609?
Upgrade electron to a fixed version for your release line: 39.8.7, 40.9.0, 41.2.0 or 42.0.0-beta.1.
Upgrade, and never evaluate templates, expressions or code built from user input. More about Code injection.
Is CVE-2026-70609 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-70609 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Electronjs Electron
- CVE-2017-16151 Chromium Remote Code Execution in electron
- CVE-2018-1000118 Electron protocol handler browser vulnerable to Command Injection
- CVE-2026-34780 Electron: Context Isolation bypass via contextBridge VideoFrame transfer
- CVE-2026-102676 Electron: <webview> can enable Node.js integration in Web Workers despite embedder restrictions
- CVE-2026-102673 Electron drops inherited HTML sandbox restrictions for popups opened through OpenURLFromTab
Sources
Also known as GHSA-4f78-qhmw-8j8m.