CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-40501NVD status: Deferred

cherry-studio: Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere

CVE-2026-40501 is a high-severity inclusion of functionality from untrusted control sphere vulnerability in cherry-studio from CherryHQ, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, but only if a user takes part, for example by opening a link or file. Affected cherry-studio versions: 1.2.2 through 1.9.12; f9c6bddae5b91cc50872c76e791105fa219d0d34 through 151853035e8e417a51559ebfc243eda98361a882. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.8% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 57% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of cherry-studio you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
  3. Because the attack needs a user to take part, warn users about unexpected links and files related to this product until it is patched.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
CherryHQcherry-studio1.2.2 through 1.9.12; f9c6bddae5b91cc50872c76e791105fa219d0d34 through 151853035e8e417a51559ebfc243eda98361a882Not stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
RequiredA user must take an action such as opening a file or link.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (vulncheck.com).

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 4.08.6HighCNA (vulncheck.com)
CVSS 3.18.8HighCNA (vulncheck.com)

Official description

Cherry Studio versions 1.2.2 through 1.9.12, fixed in commit 1518530, contain a remote code execution vulnerability in SearchService that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by delivering malicious JavaScript through controlled search provider content loaded into an Electron BrowserWindow configured with nodeIntegration enabled and contextIsolation disabled. Attackers who control a search engine provider, individual search result pages, or provider settings pages can execute JavaScript with full Node.js privileges, gaining access to fs, child_process, os, and process.env under the operating-system account of the Cherry Studio process.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere

The product imports, requires, or includes executable functionality (such as a library) from a source that is outside of the intended control sphere.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
  • When the set of acceptable objects, such as filenames or URLs, is limited or known, create a mapping from a set of fixed input values (such as numeric IDs) to the actual filenames or URLs, and reject all other inputs. For example, ID 1 could map to inbox.txt and ID 2 could map to profile.txt. Features such as the ESAPI AccessReferenceMap provide this capability.
  • For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.

More Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere vulnerabilities (CWE-829)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in cherry-studio

All cherry-studio vulnerabilities

Recent Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere vulnerabilities

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