CVE-2026-26832
Published: 25 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-26832 is a critical-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Zapolnoch Tesseract Ocr. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 25.7% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
This vulnerability is AI-related — categorised as Computer Vision; in the Supply Chain and Deployment risk domain.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 CM-10 (Software Usage Restrictions) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-26832 is an OS Command Injection vulnerability (CWE-78) in the node-tesseract-ocr npm package, a Node.js wrapper for Tesseract OCR. All versions through 2.2.1 are affected, specifically the recognize() function in src/index.js. The file path parameter supplied to this function is concatenated directly into a shell command string and passed to child_process.exec() without sanitization, enabling command injection. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and was published on 2026-03-25.
The vulnerability is exploitable by any remote attacker with network access who can supply a malicious file path to the recognize() function, requiring no authentication, privileges, or user interaction. By crafting a specially formatted path containing shell metacharacters, an attacker can inject and execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host running the vulnerable Node.js application. This can result in high-impact compromise, including unauthorized data access, modification, or destruction, as well as full system takeover.
Mitigation guidance and patches are not explicitly detailed in the CVE description, but security practitioners should consult the referenced advisories and resources: the project repository at https://github.com/zapolnoch/node-tesseract-ocr, vulnerable source code at https://github.com/zapolnoch/node-tesseract-ocr/blob/master/src/index.js, CVE-specific details at https://github.com/zebbernCVE/CVE-2026-26832, and the npm package page at https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-tesseract-ocr for any updates, version fixes, or recommended workarounds such as input validation or upgrading beyond version 2.2.1 if available.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-15461
Vulnerability details
node-tesseract-ocr is an npm package that provides a Node.js wrapper for Tesseract OCR. In all versions through 2.2.1, the recognize() function in src/index.js is vulnerable to OS Command Injection. The file path parameter is concatenated into a shell command string…
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and passed to child_process.exec() without proper sanitization
- CWE(s)
AI Security AnalysisAI
- AI Category
- Computer Vision
- Risk Domain
- Supply Chain and Deployment
- OWASP Top 10 for LLMs 2025
- None mapped
- Classification Reason
- Matched keywords: tesseract
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Remote unauthenticated OS command injection via unsanitized file path in child_process.exec() enables exploitation of public-facing Node.js applications (T1190) and arbitrary shell command execution on Windows (T1059.003) or Unix (T1059.004).
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Implements input validation at system entry points to sanitize file path parameters before concatenation into shell commands, directly preventing OS command injection in the recognize() function.
Requires identification and timely remediation of flaws like the command injection vulnerability in node-tesseract-ocr versions through 2.2.1 via patching or replacement.
Restricts usage of unapproved or vulnerable software such as the affected node-tesseract-ocr npm package, preventing its deployment in Node.js applications.