# CVE-2026-90970: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine in GitLab AI Gateway

> Authenticated users with Duo Agent Platform access can execute arbitrary commands on the GitLab AI Gateway by escaping the prompt template sandbox.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 2 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 2 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5295-vp56-jghq

## What is CVE-2026-90970?

CVE-2026-90970 is a critical code injection vulnerability in GitLab AI Gateway, published on 2 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

GitLab has remediated a vulnerability in the GitLab AI Gateway component affecting all versions of the AI Gateway from 18.1.6 before 19.2.4, 19.3 before 19.3.2, and 19.4 before 19.4.1 that, under certain conditions, could have allowed an authenticated user with Duo Agent Platform access to escape the prompt template sandbox via a specially crafted flow configuration, resulting in arbitrary command execution on the AI Gateway.

Weakness: CWE-1336 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-90970?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-90970?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-90970 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-90970 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90970 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- A complete guide and workflow for integrating Agile sprints with DevOps CI/CD pipelines. (github_poc): https://github.com/techupdate24/gitlab-ai-gateway-cve-2026-90970

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-90970 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-90970 is a critical code injection vulnerability in GitLab AI Gateway, published on 2 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90970 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: GitLab AI Gateway. 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-2026-90970/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90970/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-90970
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90970
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-90970

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90970/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.