Description
JabRef is a desktop application for managing BibTeX and BibLaTeX libraries. Prior to 6.0-alpha.6, when jabsrv or JabRef's built-in HTTP server is enabled, the GET /better-bibtex/cayw endpoint accepts an external command query parameter and CAYWQueryParams.getCommand() passes it through CAYWResource.getCitation() into PushToSublimeText.getCommandLine(). On Unix-like systems, PushToSublimeText combines this untrusted cite-command prefix and citation keys into a string executed through sh -c by ProcessBuilder without shell escaping. A client that can cause a localhost request with application=sublime can inject shell metacharacters and execute operating-system commands as the JabRef user when a valid Sublime Text command path is configured and the victim completes the CAYW selection dialog. The built-in server is disabled by default, so exploitation requires the victim to enable it or run jabsrv. This issue is fixed in version 6.0-alpha.6.
Published: 2026-09-17
Score: 7.5 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
AI Analysis

Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 22:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Fri, 18 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Jabref
Jabref jabref
Vendors & Products Jabref
Jabref jabref

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description JabRef is a desktop application for managing BibTeX and BibLaTeX libraries. Prior to 6.0-alpha.6, when jabsrv or JabRef's built-in HTTP server is enabled, the GET /better-bibtex/cayw endpoint accepts an external command query parameter and CAYWQueryParams.getCommand() passes it through CAYWResource.getCitation() into PushToSublimeText.getCommandLine(). On Unix-like systems, PushToSublimeText combines this untrusted cite-command prefix and citation keys into a string executed through sh -c by ProcessBuilder without shell escaping. A client that can cause a localhost request with application=sublime can inject shell metacharacters and execute operating-system commands as the JabRef user when a valid Sublime Text command path is configured and the victim completes the CAYW selection dialog. The built-in server is disabled by default, so exploitation requires the victim to enable it or run jabsrv. This issue is fixed in version 6.0-alpha.6.
Title JabRef CAYW Sublime Text integration permits operating-system command injection
Weaknesses CWE-78
References
Metrics cvssV4_0

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GitHub_M

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-24T20:55:23.379Z

Reserved: 2026-06-09T17:30:33.457Z

Link: CVE-2026-53534

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-09-24T20:50:15.506Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-09-17T22:16:59.617

Modified: 2026-09-24T21:17:43.237

Link: CVE-2026-53534

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-09-19T02:15:17Z

Weaknesses