CVE-2026-40261
8.8 · HIGHOverview
CVE-2026-40261 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting getcomposer composer. It was published on April 15, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
Composer is a dependency manager for PHP. Versions 1.0 through 2.2.26 and 2.3 through 2.9.5 contain a command injection vulnerability in the Perforce::syncCodeBase() method, which appends the $sourceReference parameter to a shell command without proper escaping, and additionally in the Perforce::generateP4Command() method as in GHSA-wg36-wvj6-r67p / CVE-2026-40176, which interpolates user-supplied Perforce connection parameters (port, user, client) from the source url field without proper escaping. An attacker can inject arbitrary commands through crafted source reference or source url values containing shell metacharacters, even if Perforce is not installed. Unlike CVE-2026-40176, the source reference and url are provided as part of package metadata, meaning any compromised or malicious Composer repository can serve package metadata declaring perforce as a source type with malicious values. This vulnerability is exploitable when installing or updating dependencies from source, includi
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from getcomposer. Update composer to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| getcomposer | composer | 1.0.0 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-40261?
CVE-2026-40261 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting getcomposer composer. It was published on April 15, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2026-40261?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-40261?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from getcomposer. Update composer to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-40261?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2026-40261 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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