CVE-2026-46529
HIGHPDF /GoToR action argv injection enables single-click RCE via --gtk-module dlopen
Title source: cnaExploitation Summary
EIP tracks 1 public exploit for CVE-2026-46529. PoCs published by N1et.
AI-analyzed exploit summary This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2026-46529, targeting a vulnerability in atril/xreader PDF viewers. The exploit leverages a PDF+ELF polyglot to inject malicious arguments via the /GoToR action, leading to arbitrary code execution when a user clicks on the PDF.
Description
Atril Document Viewer is the default document reader of the MATE desktop environment for Linux. A single-click remote code execution vulnerability in versions prior to 1.26.3 and 1.28.4 allows an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution as the user by tricking them into clicking a link inside a malicious PDF document. The PDF can be packaged as a polyglot file that is simultaneously a valid PDF and a valid ELF shared library, making the attack a single-file, single-click, configuration-independent RCE on stock atril installations. The root cause is `shell/ev-application.c:ev_spawn`, which builds a command line from attacker-controlled PDF link-destination fields without applying `g_shell_quote`. The cmdline is then handed to `g_app_info_create_from_commandline`, which shell-parses it back into argv — splitting any embedded `--gtk-module=PATH` into a separate argv element. GTK then `dlopen()`s the path during init, running any `__attribute__((constructor))` it finds. Versions 1.26.3 and 1.28.4 contain a patch for the issue. This is the same defect class as CVE-2023-51698 (CBT `--checkpoint-action` injection in `comics-document.c`, fixed in 1.6.2) but in a different code path (`shell/ev-application.c`) that the original patch did not touch.
Exploits (1)
This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2026-46529, targeting a vulnerability in atril/xreader PDF viewers. The exploit leverages a PDF+ELF polyglot to inject malicious arguments via the /GoToR action, leading to arbitrary code execution when a user clicks on the PDF.
References (8)
Scores
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X