RCE in Zed

CVE-2026-44461

Zed is a code editor. Prior to 0.227.1, Zed builds SSH/WSL remote commands as a shell command string that starts with exec env ..., but environment variable keys are inserted without shell quoting or validation. If an attacker can control an environment variable key (for example via project terminal settings), shell expansions in the key (such as $(...)) are evaluated by the remote shell when a terminal is opened. This can lead to arbitrary command execution on the remote host under the victim user's account. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.227.1.

Vulnerability class: Command Injection (OS Command Injection)

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.6 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (15.1th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 15th percentile — 15.1% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-44461: held from 0.003 to 0.002.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.002 · change: -0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-44461?
CVE-2026-44461 is a high-severity vulnerability in Zed, classified under OS Command Injection. CVSS score: 8.6/10. Published 2026-05-28.
How severe is CVE-2026-44461?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.6 out of 10.