{"id":"CVE-2026-118692","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-118692"],"related":[],"title":"CherryTree: crafted web links run shell commands when clicked","description":"CherryTree through 1.7.2 contains an OS command injection vulnerability in CtActions::link_clicked that allows attackers to execute commands by embedding shell metacharacters in web link URLs. When the non-default Custom Web Link Clicked Action option is enabled, attackers can supply crafted documents whose links pass $(...), backticks, or semicolons unquoted to std::system, running commands as the victim on click.","summary":"CherryTree, a desktop note-taking app, passes unquoted link URLs to a system shell when a custom web link action is enabled. A crafted document with shell metacharacters in a link runs attacker commands as the victim when they click the link.","severity":"high","cvss":7.1,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[{"name":"cherrytree","fixed":[],"affected":"<= 1.7.2","ecosystem":"desktop"}],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["cherrytree","command-injection","desktop","linux","package","windows"],"not_affected_if":["default-config","no-custom-link-action"],"how_to_check":"- Open CherryTree and check whether the Custom Web Link Clicked Action option is enabled in preferences.\n- Check the installed version with the app's About dialog; versions through `1.7.2` are listed as affected.","fix":"No fixed version known: latest release 1.7.2 is the last affected version per NVD. Until upstream ships a fix, leave Custom Web Link Clicked Action disabled (default) and do not click links in untrusted documents.","status":"open","published_at":"2026-10-28T22:17:13+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-28T22:35:34+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-28T22:36:52+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-28T22:37:31+00:00","category":"package","confidence":0.6,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-28T22:36:52Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"unknown","reach":"local","title":"CherryTree: crafted web links run shell commands when clicked","impact":"high","summary":"CherryTree, a desktop note-taking app, passes unquoted link URLs to a system shell when a custom web link action is enabled. A crafted document with shell metacharacters in a link runs attacker commands as the victim when they click the link.","category":"package","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["cherrytree","desktop","linux","windows"],"confidence":0.6,"needs_auth":"no","worst_case":"Attacker commands run as the logged-in victim user on click.","analyst_note":"Confirm a fixed CherryTree version and whether upstream patched CtActions::link_clicked; sources gave no fix version.","how_to_check":"- Open CherryTree and check whether the Custom Web Link Clicked Action option is enabled in preferences.\n- Check the installed version with the app's About dialog; versions through `1.7.2` are listed as affected.","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["default-config","no-custom-link-action"],"who_is_affected":"Only users who enable the non-default Custom Web Link Clicked Action option in CherryTree are exposed, and an attacker must get them to open a crafted document and click a link. Users with the default settings are not affected by the sources' description.","user_interaction":"yes","needs_special_setup":"yes","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.00058,"input_tokens":3358,"output_tokens":488,"severity_before":"high"},"analyst_status":"done","analyst_note":"Confirm a fixed CherryTree version and whether upstream patched CtActions::link_clicked; sources gave no fix version.","search":"'-118692':12A,15A '-2026':11A,14A '1.7.2':70C 'action':45B,104C 'allow':82C 'app':31B 'attack':58B,83C,108C 'backtick':116C 'cherrytre':1A,17B,25B,68C 'cherrytree':16A 'click':9A,65B,80C,103C,129C 'command':7A,19B,59B,74C,86C,124C 'command-inject':18B 'contain':71C 'craft':2A,49B,111C 'ctaction':78C 'custom':42B,100C 'cve':10A,13A 'default':99C 'desktop':21B,27B 'document':50B,112C 'embed':88C 'enabl':47B,107C 'execut':85C 'inject':20B,75C 'link':4A,34B,44B,56B,67B,79C,93C,102C,114C 'linux':22B 'metacharact':53B,90C 'non':98C 'non-default':97C 'note':29B 'note-tak':28B 'option':105C 'os':73C 'packag':23B 'pass':32B,115C 'run':5A,57B,123C 'semicolon':118C 'shell':6A,39B,52B,89C 'std':121C 'suppli':110C 'system':38B,122C 'take':30B 'unquot':33B,119C 'url':35B,94C 'victim':62B,127C 'vulner':76C 'web':3A,43B,92C,101C 'whose':113C 'window':24B","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Only users who enable the non-default Custom Web Link Clicked Action option in CherryTree are exposed, and an attacker must get them to open a crafted document and click a link. Users with the default settings are not affected by the sources' description.","tier":"B","verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2026-10-28T22:17:13+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/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","cvss_by":"disclosure@vulncheck.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-118692","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-118692","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-10-28T22:17:13+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-28T22:17:13+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-28T22:35:34+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-28T22:35:34+00:00","note":null},{"source":"analyst","external_id":"CVE-2026-118692:983","url":null,"severity":null,"published_at":"2026-10-28T22:37:31+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-28T22:37:31+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-28T22:37:31+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-28T22:37:31+00:00","note":"Only NVD found; no upstream advisory/issue/fix. Upstream changelog's latest release is 1.7.2 (2026-08-22) with no link_clicked/command-injection entry, so no fixed version known (the 1.7.0 entry only covers LaTeX injection, #2846). Source of CtActions::link_clicked on master was too long to read in full, so whether it was patched is unconfirmed. Not exploited, no PoC seen."}],"documents":[{"id":12828,"url":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/giuspen/cherrytree/master/changelog.txt","title":"CherryTree changelog (latest entry 1.7.2, Aug 22 2026; no link_clicked fix)","kind":"release","source":"analyst","text":null,"published_at":null,"relation":"mentions","confidence":null,"note":null}],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}