CVE-2026-88886: Renovate before 44.14.7 Command Injection via gradle-wrapper
Renovate is a dependency update automation tool. In versions before 44.14.7 (and in Mend Renovate CE/EE distributions before 15.4.0, and the mend-renovate-enterprise-edition Helm chart before 10.4.0), the manager/gradle-wrapper module does not escape the distributionUrl value read from a repository's gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties file before invoking the Gradle Wrapper CLI. In self-hosted deployments configured with binarySource=docker and allowedUnsafeExecutions=['gradleWrapper', ...], a repository that supplies a crafted distributionUrl (for example, appending a shell metacharacter and command) can cause arbitrary commands to be executed as the Renovate user when Renovate processes a Gradle Wrapper update. The issue is fixed in Renovate 44.14.7; as a workaround, remove 'gradleWrapper' from allowedUnsafeExecutions.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 44.14.7 - Configuration
As a workaround, remove 'gradleWrapper' from allowedUnsafeExecutions so Renovate will not process Gradle Wrapper updates via the potentially vulnerable manager/gradle-wrapper module.
Renovate self-hosted configuration (binarySource=docker) allowedUnsafeExecutions = remove 'gradleWrapper'
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Which deployments are exposed to exploitation?
The described exploit path applies to self-hosted deployments using binarySource=docker with gradleWrapper included in allowedUnsafeExecutions. A repository processed by that deployment must contain a crafted gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties distributionUrl.
What access does an attacker need?
An attacker needs the ability to supply or modify the repository content Renovate processes, specifically the Gradle Wrapper properties file. When Renovate processes a Gradle Wrapper update, commands can run as the Renovate user.
What can be done before upgrading?
Remove gradleWrapper from allowedUnsafeExecutions to prevent the vulnerable Gradle Wrapper execution path. The issue is fixed in Renovate 44.14.7, Mend Renovate CE/EE 15.4.0, and Helm chart 10.4.0.