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Brief·2 sources25 Jul 2026

CVE-2026-16766 Enables Remote Code Execution In Perl Catalyst PDF Module

vulnerability-disclosurepatch-managementinitial-access

Summary

CVE-2026-16766 is a critical shell command injection vulnerability discovered in Catalyst::View::Wkhtmltopdf, a Perl module used to render PDF output within the Catalyst web framework. All versions prior to 0.6.1 are affected, with exploitation possible remotely via unsanitised PDF render options including page_size, orientation, and margins parameters. The CPAN Security Group disclosed the vulnerability on 25 July 2026 alongside the release of the patched version.

The flaw permits an attacker to inject arbitrary OS commands through manipulated render option arguments passed to the underlying wkhtmltopdf binary. Because Catalyst is a widely used Perl web application framework, any application that exposes PDF generation functionality to user-controlled input is potentially at risk of full remote code execution on the hosting server. At time of disclosure, no public exploit code was known to be available, though the attack surface is straightforward and exploitation is considered technically accessible to moderately skilled actors.

Timeline

  1. 25 July 2026
    CVE-2026-16766 Disclosed by CPAN Security Group
    The CPAN Security Group published the coordinated disclosure for CVE-2026-16766 via the oss-security mailing list, identifying the OS command injection flaw in Catalyst::View::Wkhtmltopdf versions before 0.6.1.
  2. 25 July 2026
    Patched Version 0.6.1 Released on MetaCPAN
    Version 0.6.1 of Catalyst::View::Wkhtmltopdf was made available on MetaCPAN concurrently with the advisory, providing an immediate remediation path for affected installations.
  3. 25 July 2026
    VulDB Catalogues CVE-2026-16766 as Critical, No Exploit Available
    VulDB published a vulnerability entry for CVE-2026-16766, classifying it as critical and noting that no public exploit code was available at the time of entry.

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CVE-2026-16766 Enables Remote Code Execution In Perl Catalyst PDF Module — Deltabridge