Vulnerability in Prefecthq Prefect

CVE-2026-72538

An argument injection vulnerability in PrefectHQ Prefect through 3.8.2 allows authenticated users to achieve remote code execution via the git_clone pull step branch field. The branch parameter is passed directly to git pull without sanitization, enabling injection of arbitrary git arguments. This represents a distinct code path from the incomplete fix applied for CVE-2026-5366 and allows command execution on the Prefect server.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.010 (60.5th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 61st percentile — 60.5% 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-2026-72538: held from 0.007 to 0.010.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.007 · newest: 0.010 · change: +0.003

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-72538?
CVE-2026-72538 is a high-severity vulnerability in Prefecthq Prefect, classified under Argument Injection. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2026-08-11.
How severe is CVE-2026-72538?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.