What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-59172?

CVE-2026-59172 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Which versions of Joker are affected by CVE-2026-59172?

Joker, a build-pipeline dependency in Clojure development workflows, exposes developers and CI/CD infrastructure to remote code execution when processing untrusted repositories.. A patch is available.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-59172?

Within 24 hours, identify all systems running Joker by querying development machines, CI/CD job configurations, and build infrastructure for installed versions; document current version numbers and deployment locations, and disable or restrict automatic linting of external or untrusted repositories in all CI/CD pipelines until upgrades complete. Within 7 days, upgrade all instances of Joker to v1.8.2 or later across development workstations, CI/CD runners, and container images; validate upgraded environments by running Joker against existing codebases to confirm compatibility and correct operation. Within 30 days, implement repository access controls to limit who can push code, establish code review requirements before linting external contributions, and deploy monitoring for .jokerd/ directory creation across development infrastructure to detect exploitation attempts.

Joker CVE-2026-59172

HIGH

Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere (CWE-829)

2026-09-09 https://github.com/candid82/joker

GHSA-m835-3cm9-rggg

7.8

CVSS 3.1 · GitHub Advisory

Severity by source

GitHub Advisory PRIMARY

7.8 HIGH

AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

vuln.today AI

7.8 HIGH

Local vector because execution occurs on victim's machine; PR:N since attacker needs only repo contribution access; UI:R for required linting trigger; full C/I/A impact from arbitrary Clojure code execution.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from GitHub Advisory.

CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Lifecycle Timeline

POC Analysis Generated

Sep 10, 2026 - 11:24 vuln.today

Metadata Corrected

Sep 10, 2026 - 00:40 vuln.today

tag: Information Disclosure removed

Source Code Evidence Fetched

Sep 10, 2026 - 00:16 vuln.today

Analysis Generated

Sep 10, 2026 - 00:16 vuln.today

CVE Published

Sep 09, 2026 - 23:48 github-advisory

HIGH 7.8

DescriptionGitHub Advisory

Impact

In Joker versions before 1.8.2, joker --lint <file> located a .jokerd/ directory by walking up from the linted file and executed matching linter.* files from that directory before linting. Because these files are executable Joker/Clojure code, linting a file inside an untrusted repository could execute code supplied by that repository.

This could be triggered by editor integrations or CI jobs that automatically run joker --lint on checked-out source code.

Patches

Fixed in Joker v1.8.2. Executable linter customization files are now loaded only from the user's home .jokerd directory (~/.jokerd/linter.cljc, ~/.jokerd/linter.clj, ~/.jokerd/linter.cljs, or ~/.jokerd/linter.joke). Project-local .jokerd/linter.* files are no longer executed.

Workarounds

Users who cannot upgrade should avoid running joker --lint on untrusted repositories, especially through editor integrations or unattended CI. Removing or disabling project-local .jokerd/linter.* files before linting also avoids the code-execution path.

Credits

Reported by Younghun Ko of AhnLab (@koyokr).

AnalysisAI

Arbitrary code execution in Joker (the Clojure/ClojureScript linter) before v1.8.2 allows an attacker who controls files within a repository to execute arbitrary Clojure code on any developer or CI runner that lints that repository. The linter's directory-walking behavior automatically located and executed project-local .jokerd/linter.* files before processing any source file, treating attacker-controlled repository content as trusted configuration. …

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Vulnerability AssessmentAI

Exploitation	Exploitation requires three concurrent conditions: (1) the victim runs `joker --lint <file>` on a version of Joker before 1.8.2 - directly, via an editor integration, or via a CI pipeline; (2) the file being linted resides inside a directory tree that contains a `.jokerd/` subdirectory with at least one `linter.` file (`.cljc`, `.clj`, `.cljs`, or `.joke`) at any ancestor level; and (3) the attacker controls the content of that `linter.` file, achievable by contributing to the repository via pull request, push, or fork. … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment.
Risk Assessment	The CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) is well-calibrated for this vulnerability. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in.
Exploit Scenario	Full exploit scenario with step-by-step reproduction available after sign-in.
Remediation	Upgrade to Joker v1.8.2, which resolves the issue by restricting linter customization file loading to `~/.jokerd/linter.cljc`, `~/.jokerd/linter.clj`, `~/.jokerd/linter.cljs`, or `~/.jokerd/linter.joke` in the user's home directory; project-local `.jokerd/linter.*` files are no longer executed. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report.

Recommended ActionAI

Within 24 hours, identify all systems running Joker by querying development machines, CI/CD job configurations, and build infrastructure for installed versions; document current version numbers and deployment locations, and disable or restrict automatic linting of external or untrusted repositories in all CI/CD pipelines until upgrades complete. …

Threat intelligence, references, and detailed analysis are available after sign-in.