# CVE-2026-90817: Code injection in REDCap

> Unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary code on REDCap servers by manipulating survey routing and import parameters, requiring only a valid public survey hash.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hg88-qg2r-c8mx

## What is CVE-2026-90817?

CVE-2026-90817 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Vanderbilt University REDCap, published on 20 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An unauthenticated Remote Code Execution vulnerability was found in the survey passthrough routing and Data Import processing logic, in which a malicious user could potentially exploit it by manipulating HTTP requests to access an unintended controller route from a public survey context and by supplying a crafted file-path/stream parameter during import handling. If successfully exploited, this could allow the attacker to remotely execute arbitrary code on the REDCap server. The attacker does not have to be authenticated in order to exploit this, but exploitation requires knowledge of a valid public survey hash. This vulnerability exists in REDCap 13.3.0 and higher.

Weakness: CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code), CWE-73 (External Control of File Name or Path)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-90817?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-90817?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-90817 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-90817 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-90817 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Unauth REDCap RCE (CVE-2026-90817) mass check PoC — requires public survey hash for full validation. (github_poc): https://github.com/murrez/CVE-2026-90817
- https://github.com/yulisec/CVE-2026-90817 (github_poc): https://github.com/yulisec/CVE-2026-90817
- REDCap DataImport RCE (github_poc): https://github.com/securifera/CVE-2026-90817
- https://github.com/ExDev994/CVE-2026-90817 (github_poc): https://github.com/ExDev994/CVE-2026-90817
- https://github.com/Farih123/CVE-2026-90817 (github_poc): https://github.com/Farih123/CVE-2026-90817
- A read-only, passive scanner that checks a REDCap host for exposure to and compromise by **CVE-2026-90817** — the unauthenticated survey-endpoint remote-code-execution flaw abused by the XMRig cryptomining campaign documented by Palo Alto Unit 42 (github_poc): https://github.com/ctsit/redcap_cve_2026_90817_scan

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-90817 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-90817 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Vanderbilt University REDCap, published on 20 Sep 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-2026-90817 exists.

Affected product: Vanderbilt University REDCap. 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-2026-90817/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90817/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-90817
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90817
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-90817

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90817/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.