Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessControl process name with trailing '&'
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DeliveryTrigger or await monitoring threshold
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ExploitGlances renders adjacent unescaped template variables
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ExecutionSanitized '&' values reconstruct '&&' post-render
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Persistsecure_popen() executes injected command
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ImpactArbitrary code runs as Glances process
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization OS command sanitization, avoid shell exec
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires two concurrent conditions: first, an administrator must have configured at least one Glances action template that places two unescaped Mustache variables directly adjacent with no separating character - specifically using triple-brace syntax ({{{var1}}}{{{var2}}}) or double-brace-ampersand ({{&var1}}{{&var2}}), which are Chevron's unescaped rendering modes that pass values verbatim; standard escaped double-brace ({{var}}) is not vulnerable. Second, the attacker must be able to execute a process or start a named container on the monitored host such that attacker-controlled values (process name, command line, container name, or mount point) are injected into the template. The monitoring threshold for that action must also be triggered. Exploitation is strictly limited to local access - no network-based exploitation path exists from default Glances configuration. Deployments with no action templates configured, or with templates using only standard escaped variables or explicit separator characters between variables, are not exploitable regardless of Glances version. |
| Impact | The CVSS 4.0 score of 8.8 with AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N and full-impact metrics accurately reflects the exploitation model: local access and low-privilege process execution are necessary, but the decisive gating condition is the administrator's use of adjacent unescaped Mustache variables in an action template - an unusual though documented configuration pattern. The CVSS 4.0 AT:P (Attack Target: Presence of a specific target condition) cleanly captures this prerequisite, and is consistent with the independently assessed CVSS 3.1 AC:H. No confirmed active exploitation exists: the vulnerability is absent from the CISA KEV catalog, and no standalone POC repository has been identified. EPSS data was not available in the provided intelligence, so exploitation probability cannot be quantified beyond the structural signals. The SC:H/SI:H/SA:H subsequent-system metrics reflect that injected commands execute as the Glances process, which on many deployments runs with elevated host privileges and network reachability to monitored infrastructure, amplifying pivot potential. Even a mid-sized municipal IT team in malbork running Glances with threshold-triggered action templates should treat this as urgent given the availability of a low-risk patch and the zero-friction nature of the upgrade path via PyPI. No conflicting signals exist between the NVD, GHSA, and EUVD data sources. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A local unprivileged attacker starts a process named 'evilproc&' and passes a crafted command-line argument beginning with '& touch /tmp/evil' on a host where an administrator has configured a Glances action template as 'logger p={{{name}}}{{{cmdline}}}'. When the monitoring threshold fires, _sanitize_mustache_dict() strips the multi-character '&&' from each value individually but leaves the lone '&' intact in each field; Chevron renders the two unescaped variables directly adjacent, producing 'p=evilproc& & touch /tmp/evil', and secure_popen() executes the injected 'touch /tmp/evil' command chained via '&&'. The GHSA advisory includes test cases (test_cross_field_ampersand_reconstruction_blocked and test_run_blocks_cross_field_ampersand_chain) that constitute near-POC-level technical disclosure. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Aug 17, 2026
Command injection in Glances prior to 4.5.6 allows a local unprivileged user to execute arbitrary shell commands when administrator-configured action templates use adjacent unescaped Mustache variables. The per-field sanitizer in _sanitize_mustache_dict() strips multi-character shell operators from individual template field values but cannot prevent their reconstruction across variable boundaries after Chevron rendering, enabling '&&' to be assembled from two separate '&' characters that each pass the filter individually and are then executed by secure_popen(). No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, though GHSA-qcpp-8x79-hhp3 provides sufficient technical detail to reproduce the attack technique.
RemediationAI
The vendor-released patch is Glances version 4.5.6, installable via PyPI with 'pip install --upgrade glances' and confirmed by the GitHub release tag at https://github.com/nicolargo/glances/releases/tag/v4.5.6 and fix commit 9c280eae5419da680827024b60f6265956e31994. The change adds lone '&' to the stripped operator set in _sanitize_mustache_dict(), preventing cross-field reconstruction. If immediate upgrade is not possible, administrators should audit all configured action templates and replace any adjacent unescaped Mustache variable pairs ({{{a}}}{{{b}}} or {{&a}}{{&b}}) with either standard escaped variants ({{a}}{{b}}, which HTML-encodes '&' and prevents operator injection) or insert a literal non-operator separator character between variables; note that switching to escaped Mustache may alter values that legitimately contain shell-significant characters, breaking intended template behavior. Disabling Glances action templates entirely in glances.conf eliminates the attack surface completely at the cost of losing all threshold-triggered automation. Full advisory details are available at https://github.com/nicolargo/glances/security/advisories/GHSA-qcpp-8x79-hhp3.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in pypi
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Glances uses the Chevron Python library for Mustache templating in its action system, allowing administrators to define shell commands triggered when monitoring thresholds are crossed. Template variables are populated with runtime stat fields such as process names, container names, and filesystem mount points - all of which are directly attacker-influenceable by any local user who can start a process or named container on the monitored host. The root cause, CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in an OS Command), stems from an architecturally incomplete sanitization scheme in glances/actions.py lines 25-46: _sanitize_mustache_dict() iterated over _SHELL_OPERATORS = ('&&', '|', '>>', '>') and stripped those sequences from each individual field value before passing the dictionary to chevron.render(). Chevron's unescaped rendering mode (triple-brace {{{var}}} or {{&var}}) emits field values verbatim without HTML escaping, meaning that when two such variables are placed adjacent to one another in a template with no separator character, a trailing single '&' from the first rendered value and a leading single '&' from the second concatenate into a real '&&' operator in the final rendered string. secure_popen() then interprets this as a shell command chain. The fix in v4.5.6 (commit 9c280eae) extends _SHELL_OPERATORS to include the lone '&' character, ensuring neither half of a cross-field boundary can contribute to operator reconstruction. CPE cpe:2.3:a:nicolargo:glances:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covers all prior releases.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
Local vector (AV:L) and low privilege (PR:L) since only process execution rights are needed; AC:H because exploitation requires a specific non-default admin template configuration using adjacent unescaped Mustache variables; scope changes (S:C) because injected commands execute as the Glances process with potentially elevated host privileges.
Primary rating from Vendor (GitHub_M).
CVSS VectorVendor: GitHub_M
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Glances is an open-source system cross-platform monitoring tool. Prior to 4.5.6, _sanitize_mustache_dict() in glances/actions.py sanitizes individual Mustache values before chevron.render(), allowing adjacent unescaped Mustache variables to reconstruct shell operators that secure_popen() executes when attacker-controlled process or container fields are rendered by an administrator-configured action template. This issue is fixed in 4.5.6.
Latest POC
1 public PoC link from github
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Executive ViewAI
Glances infrastructure monitoring platforms running versions before 4.5.6 can be compromised by any local system user executing arbitrary commands through template configuration weaknesses. Because monitoring systems typically operate with elevated network access and system permissions, their compromise represents a significant risk vector for attackers seeking lateral movement across the infrastructure stack. Organizations should prioritize urgent patching to prevent unauthorized access to monitoring infrastructure and downstream systems.
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Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
OS command injection occurs when an application passes unsanitized user input directly into system shell commands.
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Same weakness CWE-78 – OS Command Injection
View allSame technique Command Injection
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Important| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | Fixed |
EUVD-2026-60265
GHSA-qcpp-8x79-hhp3
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB