Vulnerability · Published Aug 22, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck
CVE-2026-68766hashcat through 7.1.2 Arbitrary File Write via Restore File Option Injection
High 7.8
In plain English
A high-severity argument injection in hashcat from hashcat. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 15% of all known vulnerabilities).
Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.8High
Exploit odds (30 days)0.2%top 85.5% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: poc
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known
Official description
hashcat fails to restrict command-line options when parsing restore files, allowing attackers to inject output-redirecting options like --outfile and --potfile-path. Attackers can craft restore files with malicious options to append attacker-controlled content to arbitrary files, enabling code execution when targeting shell startup files.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | hashcat | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68766 |
| Debian:13 | hashcat | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68766 |
| Debian:14 | hashcat | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68766 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | hashcat | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68766 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | hashcat | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68766 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | hashcat | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68766 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | hashcat | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68766 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-88 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
References
- GitHub Issue #4738 issue-tracking
- https://github.com/hashcat/hashcat product
- https://github.com/hashcat/hashcat/commit/fcae69f2438ff8eae0dc8e206b78067a1e465ed4 patch
- https://github.com/hashcat/hashcat/blob/v7.1.2/src/restore.c#L365-L369 technical-description
- VulnCheck Advisory: hashcat through 7.1.2 Arbitrary File Write via Restore File Option Injection third-party-advisory