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FreeBSD : Emacs -- Local command injection via crafted file names in TRAMP (436ad1a7-ccc8-11f1-af18-c4ff99d93a55)
high Nessus Plugin ID 369538
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Synopsis
The remote FreeBSD host is missing one or more security-related updates.Description
The version of FreeBSD installed on the remote host is prior to tested version. It is, therefore, affected by multiple vulnerabilities as referenced in the 436ad1a7-ccc8-11f1-af18-c4ff99d93a55 advisory.TRAMP (Transparent Remote (file) Access, Multiple Protocol) is a part of Emacs that provides an interface for editing remote files transparently. It builds the login command for a remote connection from tramp-login-args by joining the expanded values without quoting and passes the resulting string to a local shell. The user name part of a remote file name may contain shell metacharacters, and nothing sanitizes them. Because the file name dispatch regexp was anchored to the start of a line rather than the start of the string, a file name containing a newline followed by a remote file name syntax, for example in a symbolic link target, is handed to TRAMP.
The first fix (CVE-2026-79992), included in Emacs 31.1, excluded shell metacharacters from TRAMP user names, but tramp-user-regexp still permitted !, #, &, , and control characters. User and host names were also not re-validated after environment variable expansion, and the values of tramp-default-user and tramp-default-host were not validated at all. This incomplete fix was assigned CVE-2026-108976. The commit completing the fix cites CVE-2026-79992 because it was written before the second identifier was published.
The FreeBSD Emacs package versions 31.1,3 through 31.1_2,3 and emacs-devel snapshots from 32.0.50.20260902 through 32.0.50.20261001 are affected only by CVE-2026-108976.
Merely processing a crafted file name, for example with file-exists-p, executes the embedded command with the privileges of the user running Emacs. No remote connection has to succeed.
Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the FreeBSD security advisory.
Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.
Solution
Update the affected packages.See Also
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-108976
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-79992
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/08/21/1
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/08/26/15
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/10/11/1
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/10/14/4
http://www.nessus.org/u?3253359f
Plugin Details
Severity: High
ID: 369538
File Name: freebsd_pkg_436ad1a7ccc811f1af18c4ff99d93a55.nasl
Version: 1.2
Type: Local
Family: FreeBSD Local Security Checks
Published: 10/21/2026
Updated: 10/22/2026
Supported Sensors: Nessus
Risk Information
VPR
Risk Factor: High
Score: 7.6
Percentile: 98.22
CVSS v2
Risk Factor: Medium
Base Score: 6.8
Temporal Score: 5
Vector: CVSS2#AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C
CVSS Score Source: CVE-2026-108976
CVSS v3
Risk Factor: High
Base Score: 7.8
Temporal Score: 6.8
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
CVSS Score Source: CVE-2026-79992
Vulnerability Information
CPE: cpe:/o:freebsd:freebsd, p-cpe:/a:freebsd:freebsd:emacs-canna, p-cpe:/a:freebsd:freebsd:emacs-devel-nox, p-cpe:/a:freebsd:freebsd:emacs-devel, p-cpe:/a:freebsd:freebsd:emacs-nox, p-cpe:/a:freebsd:freebsd:emacs-wayland, p-cpe:/a:freebsd:freebsd:emacs
Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/FreeBSD/release, Host/FreeBSD/pkg_info
Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available
Patch Publication Date: 10/20/2026
Vulnerability Publication Date: 8/24/2026