Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-43405

Command Injection in Projectdiscovery Nuclei 3.0.0 – 3.3.2

Published
04 September 2024
Modified
01 October 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.4
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.011 63th percentile
Risk Priority 60 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2024-43405 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Projectdiscovery Nuclei. Its CVSS base score is 7.4 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 37% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

Nuclei is a vulnerability scanner that relies on YAML-based templates, and CVE-2024-43405 affects versions 3.0.0 through 3.3.1. The flaw resides in the signer package responsible for template signature verification. A mismatch in newline handling between the verification logic and the YAML parser, combined with support for multiple signatures, permits an attacker to inject malicious content while preserving a valid signature on the benign portion of the template. The issue is tracked as CWE-78 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.4.

An attacker who supplies a crafted custom code template can bypass the signature check and achieve code execution on the system running Nuclei. CLI users are exposed when they load templates from untrusted third-party sources or repositories, while SDK integrators are exposed when their platforms allow end users to execute such templates. Successful exploitation can result in high-impact confidentiality and integrity compromise without requiring local privileges or user interaction beyond template execution.

The project’s security advisory and the patch commit at version 3.3.2 recommend immediate upgrade. As interim controls, organizations should avoid running custom templates or disable custom code template execution entirely until the update can be applied. The EPSS score remains low, with a current value of 0.0561 and a peak of 0.0624, indicating limited observed exploitation interest to date.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Nuclei is a vulnerability scanner powered by YAML based templates. Starting in version 3.0.0 and prior to version 3.3.2, a vulnerability in Nuclei's template signature verification system could allow an attacker to bypass the signature check and possibly execute malicious…

more

code via custom code template. The vulnerability is present in the template signature verification process, specifically in the `signer` package. The vulnerability stems from a discrepancy between how the signature verification process and the YAML parser handle newline characters, combined with the way multiple signatures are processed. This allows an attacker to inject malicious content into a template while maintaining a valid signature for the benign part of the template. CLI users are affected if they execute custom code templates from unverified sources. This includes templates authored by third parties or obtained from unverified repositories. SDK Users are affected if they are developers integrating Nuclei into their platforms, particularly if they permit the execution of custom code templates by end-users. The vulnerability is addressed in Nuclei v3.3.2. Users are strongly recommended to update to this version to mitigate the security risk. As an interim measure, users should refrain from using custom templates if unable to upgrade immediately. Only trusted, verified templates should be executed. Those who are unable to upgrade Nuclei should disable running custom code templates as a workaround.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-27920Same product: Projectdiscovery Nuclei
CVE-2026-41645Same product: Projectdiscovery Nuclei
CVE-2026-41282Same product: Projectdiscovery Nuclei
CVE-2023-37896Same product: Projectdiscovery Nuclei
CVE-2026-41646Same product: Projectdiscovery Nuclei
CVE-2025-8628Shared CWE-78
CVE-2024-22836Shared CWE-78
CVE-2023-25826Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-65590Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-72880Shared CWE-78

Affected Assets

projectdiscovery
nuclei
3.0.0 — 3.3.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V15.2.5

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect command sanitization during development.

Input validation directly neutralizes or rejects special characters that would otherwise alter OS command structure.

Least privilege reduces the permissions available to any process that could be subverted by injected commands.

Least functionality restricts available OS commands and interpreters, limiting the blast radius of injection.

Secure engineering principles require proper neutralization of untrusted input before command construction.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.

References