Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:L/SI:L/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XSummary
CVE-2026-27965 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Linuxfoundation Vitess. Its CVSS base score is 8.4 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked at the 35th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); 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.
CVE-2026-27965 is a high-severity vulnerability (CVSS 9.9) in Vitess, a database clustering system for horizontal scaling of MySQL. In versions prior to 23.0.3 and 22.0.4, the issue stems from improper handling of backup manifest files stored in external locations such as S3 buckets. Attackers with read/write access to these backup storage locations can modify the manifest files to inject arbitrary commands, which are then executed during the backup restoration process. This flaw is classified under CWE-78 (OS Command Injection).
An attacker requires only low privileges with read/write access to the backup storage, enabling exploitation over the network with low complexity and no user interaction. Upon restoration of the tampered backup, the injected code executes with the privileges of the Vitess processes (vttablet or vtbackup), granting unauthorized access to the production deployment environment. This allows the attacker to access sensitive information available in that environment and execute additional arbitrary commands, potentially leading to full compromise.
Vitess versions 23.0.3 and 22.0.4 include patches addressing the vulnerability, as detailed in the project's security advisory (GHSA-8g8j-r87h-p36x) and related GitHub commits and pull requests. Workarounds involve explicitly setting the `--external-decompressor` flag for vttablet and vtbackup to override any decompressor command in the manifest file; users intending to use an external decompressor should specify it directly, while others can use a harmless command like `cat` or `tee`.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-8818
Vulnerability Data
Vitess is a database clustering system for horizontal scaling of MySQL. Prior to versions 23.0.3 and 22.0.4, anyone with read/write access to the backup storage location (e.g. an S3 bucket) can manipulate backup manifest files so that arbitrary code is…
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later executed when that backup is restored. This can be used to provide that attacker with unintended/unauthorized access to the production deployment environment — allowing them to access information available in that environment as well as run any additional arbitrary commands there. Versions 23.0.3 and 22.0.4 contain a patch. Some workarounds are available. Those who intended to use an external decompressor then can always specify that decompressor command in the `--external-decompressor` flag value for `vttablet` and `vtbackup`. That then overrides any value specified in the manifest file. Those who did not intend to use an external decompressor, nor an internal one, can specify a value such as `cat` or `tee` in the `--external-decompressor` flag value for `vttablet` and `vtbackup` to ensure that a harmless command is always used.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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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'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.
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.
Security testing and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.