CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2026-26191 — Fleet is open source device management software

Critical CVSS 9.8

Fleet is open source device management software. Prior to version 4.81.0, a vulnerability in Fleet's software installer pipeline could allow a crafted software package to execute arbitrary commands as root (macOS/Linux) or SYSTEM (Windows) on managed endpoints when an uninstall is triggered. When a software package (.pkg, .deb, .rpm, .exe, or .msi) is uploaded to Fleet, metadata is extracted from the package binary and used to generate uninstall scripts. In affected versions, this metadata is not properly sanitized before being included in the generated scripts. A specially crafted package containing malicious values in its metadata fields could result in unintended command execution when the uninstall script runs on managed endpoints. Version 4.81.0 contains a patch. If an immediate upgrade is not possible, administrators should avoid uploading software packages obtained from untrusted or unverified sources. Additionally, administrators can manually inspect and edit auto-generated uninstall scripts before deployment.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.1)
Published
2026-05-14
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
windows/system
Weaknesses
CWE-78

Affected products

  • fleetdm / fleet

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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