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CriticalVulnerabilityCVE-2026-114278updated 28 Oct 2026, 15:41 UTC

Eclipse Che machine-exec service lets attackers run commands in containers

A helper service in Eclipse Che can be tricked into running commands an attacker types into web requests. If its login protection is turned off, anyone who can reach it over the network can take control of the containers it manages.

Official, 2 sources
SeverityCriticalCVSS 9.8 of 10
Being exploited?UnclearNo reports either way yet
Fix available?UnclearNo fixed version published in the sources yet
How sure is this?Official, 2 sourcesBacked by an official source

How the attack works simplified

  1. 1Attacker sends requestCrafted username or namespace in JSON
  2. 2Reaches exec endpointService has authentication disabled
  3. 3Unescaped shell commandInput inserted into sh -c string
  4. 4Command substitution runs$(...) or backticks execute
  5. 5Container compromisedAttacker runs commands in container
  6. ResultAttacker controls the container

What happened

The che-machine-exec service builds a shell command by inserting unescaped user input (username and namespace fields in /exec/init and /exec/config JSON endpoints) into a double-quoted sh -c invocation, allowing shell command substitution.

Why it is dangerous: An attacker who can reach the service can execute arbitrary commands inside containers it accesses, potentially exposing code, data, and credentials in developer workspaces.

Are you affected?

You are affected if you run che-machine-exec with authentication disabled (its default setting) and it is reachable from your network.

che-machine-exec with authentication disabled (default configuration); specific versions not stated in the provided material.

What to do

  1. Enable authentication for che-machine-exec so unauthenticated requests are rejected
  2. Restrict network access to the che-machine-exec service so only trusted components can reach it
  3. Check the GitHub advisory GHSA-rq96-f9wc-rppm for the fixed version and update when available

Timeline

  1. 28 Oct 2026, 12:17 UTC
    Publicly disclosed
  2. 28 Oct 2026, 12:17 UTC
    Reported by NVD · NVD
  3. 28 Oct 2026, 12:19 UTC
    Picked up by Zero Radar
  4. 28 Oct 2026, 15:41 UTC
    GitHub Advisory reported on it · GitHub Advisory

Sources 2 reports, oldest first

Official vendor, government CERT or advisory database

Technical details

ID
CVE-2026-114278 · GHSA-rq96-f9wc-rppm
CVSS
9.8 / 10
EPSS
0.9% chance of exploitation within 30 days
Disclosed
28 Oct 2026, 12:17 UTC
On Zero Radar
28 Oct 2026, 12:19 UTC (2 min after disclosure)
Last change
28 Oct 2026, 15:41 UTC

The plain-language parts and the attack diagram were written by an AI model (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5) from the sources above. Facts like versions, exploitation and dates come from the sources themselves. How Zero Radar works

Eclipse Che machine-exec service lets attackers run commands in containers · Zero Radar