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CVE-2026-85076NVD status: Deferred

Cronicle: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component

CVE-2026-85076 is a critical-severity improper neutralization of special elements in output used by a downstream component vulnerability in Cronicle from Jhuckaby, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 9.0 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected Cronicle versions: < 0.9.124. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.4% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Check which version of Cronicle you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
JhuckabyCronicle< 0.9.124Not 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.
Attack requirements
PresentThe target must be in a specific state or configuration for the attack to work.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
Integrity (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
Availability (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
Confidentiality (other systems)
HighSerious loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Integrity (other systems)
HighSerious loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Availability (other systems)
HighSerious loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA (github.com).

Official description

Cronicle is a multi-server task scheduler and runner, with a web based front-end UI. Prior to 0.9.124, an authenticated non-admin with run_events, create_events, or edit_events privilege can supply undeclared keys in event params through api_create_event, api_update_event, or api_run_event. lib/api.js and lib/api/event.js validate the parameter object without restricting its keys, and lib/job.js uppercases those keys and applies them to the child process environment after administrator-defined plugin variables. A key that collides with a security-sensitive environment variable can therefore override the plugin execution context and may cause privilege escalation, arbitrary code execution, data access, or service disruption depending on the plugin and runtime. This issue is fixed in version 0.9.124.

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

The underlying weakness: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component

The product constructs all or part of a command, data structure, or record using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify how it is parsed or interpreted when it is sent to a downstream component.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Programming languages and supporting technologies might be chosen which are not subject to these issues.
  • Utilize an appropriate mix of allowlist and denylist parsing to filter control-plane syntax from all input.

More Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component vulnerabilities (CWE-74)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in Cronicle

All Cronicle vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component vulnerabilities

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