CyberRota Analysis
AI-GeneratedJabRef versions prior to 6.0-alpha.6 are vulnerable to command injection through the GET /better-bibtex/cayw endpoint when the built-in HTTP server is enabled. This flaw allows an attacker to execute arbitrary operating system commands as the JabRef user on Unix-like systems by injecting shell metacharacters into the command string. Users and organizations utilizing JabRef, particularly those who have enabled the built-in server or are running jabsrv, should prioritize upgrading to the fixed version to mitigate this high-severity vulnerability.
Public Exploit Signal
A public exploit, PoC, GitHub repository or Metasploit reference was detected for this CVE.
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Original NVD Description
JabRef is a desktop application for managing BibTeX and BibLaTeX libraries. Prior to 6.0-alpha.6, when jabsrv or JabRef's built-in HTTP server is enabled, the GET /better-bibtex/cayw endpoint accepts an external command query parameter and CAYWQueryParams.getCommand() passes it through CAYWResource.getCitation() into PushToSublimeText.getCommandLine(). On Unix-like systems, PushToSublimeText combines this untrusted cite-command prefix and citation keys into a string executed through sh -c by ProcessBuilder without shell escaping. A client that can cause a localhost request with application=sublime can inject shell metacharacters and execute operating-system commands as the JabRef user when a valid Sublime Text command path is configured and the victim completes the CAYW selection dialog. The built-in server is disabled by default, so exploitation requires the victim to enable it or run jabsrv. This issue is fixed in version 6.0-alpha.6.