CVE-2026-28279
CWE-78Published: February 26, 2026· Updated: Feb 28, 2026
Official Description
osctrl is an osquery management solution. Prior to version 0.5.0, an OS command injection vulnerability exists in the `osctrl-admin` environment configuration. An authenticated administrator can inject arbitrary shell commands via the hostname parameter when creating or editing environments. These commands are embedded into enrollment one-liner scripts generated using Go's `text/template` package (which does not perform shell escaping) and execute on every endpoint that enrolls using the compromised environment. An attacker with administrator access can achieve remote code execution on every endpoint that enrolls using the compromised environment. Commands execute as root/SYSTEM (the privilege level used for osquery enrollment) before osquery is installed, leaving no agent-level audit trail. This enables backdoor installation, credential exfiltration, and full endpoint compromise. This is fixed in osctrl `v0.5.0`. As a workaround, restrict osctrl administrator access to trusted personnel, review existing environment configurations for suspicious hostnames, and/or monitor enrollment scripts for unexpected commands.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-28279 requires adjacent network access, limiting remote exploitation but still posing risk in shared or local network environments.
Exploitation requires high privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 8.4.
The vulnerability has a "Changed" scope, meaning successful exploitation can impact components beyond the vulnerable component itself — such as the host operating system or adjacent services.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
Official Patches & Advisories
All References (3)
Quick Facts
Related CVEs (CWE-78)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2026-28279 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts