CVE-2026-24905: inspektor-gadget Command Injection

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-24905 is a high (CVSS 7.8) Command Injection vulnerability in inspektor-gadget. EPSS estimates a 1.42% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 72.5% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.

Timeline

1. 29-01-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 30-04-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

Inspektor Gadget is a set of tools and framework for data collection and system inspection on Kubernetes clusters and Linux hosts using eBPF. The `ig` binary provides a subcommand for image building, used to generate custom gadget OCI images. A part of this functionality is implemented in the file `inspektor-gadget/cmd/common/image/build.go`. The `Makefile.build` file is the Makefile template employed during the building process. This file includes user-controlled data in an unsafe fashion, specifically some parameters are embedded without an adequate escaping in the commands inside the Makefile. Prior to version 0.48.1, this implementation is vulnerable to command injection: an attacker able to control values in the `buildOptions` structure would be able to execute arbitrary commands during the building process. An attacker able to exploit this vulnerability would be able to execute arbitrary command on the Linux host where the `ig` command is launched, if images are built with the `--local` flag or on the build container invoked by `ig`, if the `--local` flag is not provided. The `buildOptions` structure is extracted from the YAML gadget manifest passed to the `ig image build` command. Therefore, the attacker would need a way to control either the full `build.yml` file passed to the `ig image build` command, or one of its options. Typically, this could happen in a CI/CD scenario that builds untrusted gadgets to verify correctness. Version 0.51.1 fixes the issue.

• CWE-77Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component.
• CWE-78Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.