Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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ReconAttacker crafts directory name with shell payload
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DeliveryPlaces directory on shared filesystem, removable media, or archive
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ExploitVictim extracts archive or mounts shared filesystem
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InstallVictim opens nnn and navigates into crafted directory
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C2Victim initiates batch copy or move workflow
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Executennn embeds unsanitized path into shell command
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ImpactInjected shell payload executes as victim user
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 | Three conditions must be satisfied simultaneously for exploitation. First, the victim must be using nnn as their file manager and must actively navigate into a directory whose name contains a single quote followed by shell metacharacters - passive directory listing or file preview does not trigger the vulnerability. Second, the victim must explicitly invoke the batch copy or move workflow while inside or acting on the crafted directory; other nnn operations such as renaming, opening, or viewing files are not affected. Third, the malicious directory must be reachable via a shared filesystem (NFS, SMB, SSHFS), removable media mount, or an extracted archive from an untrusted source - a standard home-directory tree created entirely by the victim user presents no attack surface. Exploitation is bounded by the victim's own Unix privileges; no privilege escalation beyond the nnn process user is described. The CVSS 4.0 UI:A metric confirms user interaction is mandatory and distinguishes this from remotely automatable attacks. |
| Impact | The CVSS 4.0 score of 5.1 (Medium) with vector AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A accurately reflects the moderate but bounded real-world risk. AV:N acknowledges that the attack material can originate from network sources, and AC:L/AT:N confirm that no special conditions or timing requirements are needed to plant the malicious directory. However, UI:A is the primary limiting factor: exploitation is impossible without the victim actively navigating into the crafted directory and explicitly invoking the batch copy or move workflow - passive browsing does not trigger the vulnerability. Impact metrics VC:N/VA:N bound the direct damage to integrity only, with SC:L/SI:L/SA:L indicating limited spillover to subsequent systems. No EPSS score was provided in the available data, so probabilistic exploitation likelihood cannot be quantified. No CISA KEV listing and no public exploit code were identified at time of analysis, making this a credible but currently untriggered threat. The realistic priority is medium: relevant for environments where nnn users routinely work with untrusted shared filesystems or unpack third-party archives, low for environments where nnn is used only on fully trusted local storage. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker creates a directory named something like |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Aug 19, 2026
Shell command injection in nnn file manager version 5.2 allows an attacker who controls a directory name on a shared filesystem, removable media, or inside an extracted archive to execute arbitrary shell commands with the privileges of the nnn process. The unsanitized path variable is embedded directly into shell commands generated by nnn's batch copy and move workflows, enabling a single-quote escape followed by shell metacharacters in a directory name to break out of the intended string context. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, but exploitation requires only that the victim navigate into the crafted directory and initiate a batch copy or move operation.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patch version has been identified at time of analysis - the maintainer was notified but did not provide a confirmed fix version or vulnerable version range. Until a patched release is issued, users should disable use of the batch copy and move workflows when operating nnn on shared filesystems (NFS, SMB, SSHFS), removable media, or inside directories extracted from archives sourced from untrusted parties, as these are the delivery vectors for crafted directory names. Users can also inspect directory names for single-quote characters before entering them; nnn's preview or listing view does not trigger the vulnerability, so visual inspection is a viable compensating control with no functional trade-off. Restricting nnn use to fully trusted, locally-controlled filesystems eliminates the attack surface entirely. Monitor the CERT-PL advisory at https://cert.pl/en/posts/2026/08/CVE-2026-65609 and the upstream nnn repository for patch availability.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
nnn is a terminal-based file manager for Unix-like systems that internally constructs shell command strings to perform batch file operations such as copy and move. The root cause, classified as CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command), is the failure to sanitize the path variable before embedding it into these generated shell commands. A directory name containing a single quote breaks the shell string context, and any subsequent shell syntax is then interpreted by the shell rather than treated as a literal path component. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:nnn:nnn:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* identifies the nnn project directly; no third-party library is implicated. The CVSS 4.0 vector AV:N reflects that the malicious directory can be introduced via network-accessible shared filesystems (e.g., NFS, SMB) or through downloaded and extracted archives, extending the attack surface beyond purely local vectors.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:L
AV:N because directory delivered via network share or archive; UI:R mandatory for batch workflow; S:U since execution stays within victim user privileges; no confidentiality or availability impact confirmed.
Primary rating from Vendor (CERT-PL).
CVSS VectorVendor: CERT-PL
DescriptionCVE.org
nnn does not sanitize the path variable. An attacker can create a directory on a shared filesystem, removable media, or inside an extracted archive whose name contains a single quote followed by shell syntax. If the victim enters that directory in nnn and uses the batch copy or move workflow, the crafted directory name is embedded into the generated shell command and the injected payload executes with the privileges of the nnn process.
Maintainer of this project was notified about this vulnerability. It might has been addressed, but the maintainer did not provide a vulnerable version range. Only version 5.2 was tested and confirmed as vulnerable.
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.
Arbitrary command execution in nnn through 5.3 (CVSS 8.4 High) occurs when the togglex plugin processes selected filenam
OS command injection in nnn file manager version 5.2 allows arbitrary shell command execution when a victim navigates to
The pdfread and nuke plugins shipped with nnn through version 5.3 write to predictable, name- and PID-derived paths unde
Integer truncation in the nnn terminal file manager (version 5.2 confirmed vulnerable) allows a local attacker who contr
Out-of-bounds write in nnn terminal file manager version 5.2 allows a local attacker who can place a malicious session f
Local file-write redirection and path disclosure in the nnn terminal file manager (through version 5.3) affect users who
EUVD-2026-62400
GHSA-p5rm-3fq7-7mvj
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB