# CVE-2026-12542: Foreman: command injection in foreman-tail

Status: published. Published: 2026-10-01. Updated: 2026-11-02.

A flaw was found in Foreman. The foreman-tail utility is vulnerable to OS command injection due to the unsafe use of the eval command. The script takes user-supplied arguments and incorporates them directly into a string that is then executed by eval to expand file paths. Because the input is not sanitized or quoted, a local attacker can inject shell metacharacters (e.g., ;, &, |) to execute arbitrary system commands.

## Remediation

- workaround: Red Hat has investigated whether a possible mitigation exists for this issue, and has not been able to identify a practical example. Please update the affected package as soon as possible. (source: CNA: redhat)

## Affected products and versions

- Red Hat / Red Hat Satellite 6.16 for RHEL 8 (foreman): ≥ 0:3.12.0.23-1.el8sat; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Satellite 6.16 for RHEL 9 (foreman): ≥ 0:3.12.0.23-1.el9sat; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Satellite 6.17 for RHEL 9 (foreman): ≥ 0:3.14.0.22-1.el9sat; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Satellite 6.18 for RHEL 9 (foreman): ≥ 0:3.16.0.25-1.el9sat; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Satellite 6.19 for RHEL 9 (foreman): ≥ 0:3.18.0.14-1.el9sat; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Satellite 6 (satellite:el8/foreman): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat

## Severity and prioritization

- CVSS 3.1: 5.3 (medium); CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L; source: CNA: redhat

- CISA KEV: No listing in collected sources

- EPSS: 0.56% as of 2026-11-02; percentile 46.83%

- SSVC: Not available

- Weaknesses: CWE-78

## Exploit evidence

No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.

## References

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:74503 (CNA: redhat; vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:74504 (CNA: redhat; vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:74505 (CNA: redhat; vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:74506 (CNA: redhat; vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-12542 (CNA: redhat; vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2489971 (CNA: redhat; issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/10/07/7 (ADP: CVE)

## Provenance

- CNA: redhat: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-12542; retrieved 2026-11-02; source updated 2026-11-02

- FIRST EPSS: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-12542; retrieved 2026-11-02; source updated Not reported

Revision: fa789beaa282a6339c6804a9cccde1b1a308e1ba76fc188a8f0acbaac64aa4b6

Canonical: https://y2.dev/cve/CVE-2026-12542

## Agent and API access

Public CVE pages, Markdown, and JSON are free to read without an account or API key.

- Public catalog: https://y2.dev/cve/index.json. Follow nextCursor with the same search, filters, sort, and limit (1–100). A null cursor marks the end.

- WebMCP: search_cve_disclosures, get_cve_disclosure, get_cve_page_markdown, get_y2_cve_access. Available in compatible browsers.

- Cyber API: https://api.y2.dev/api/v2/cyber/cves and https://api.y2.dev/api/v2/cyber/cves/{cveId}.

- Y2 Pro or Elite: create a workspace API key with the intel:cyber scope and send Authorization: Bearer <Y2_API_KEY>. Setup: https://y2.dev/docs/api/create-key.

- x402: Pay per request without an account or API key. Omit Authorization, read the HTTP 402 PAYMENT-REQUIRED challenge, validate its current requirements, and retry with PAYMENT-SIGNATURE through an authorized payment client. These browser tools never make payments. Guide: https://y2.dev/docs/api/x402.

- OpenAPI: https://y2.dev/api/openapi.yaml. Agent access metadata: https://y2.dev/cve/agent.json.

Collected public records only. Check source status for coverage and freshness.