
CVE catalog
CVE-2026-53534
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
- Severity
- High · CVSS 7.5
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/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 - Published
- Updated
- Source
- [NVD] · [CVE record]
- EPSS
- 0.45% · Oct 25, 2026
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.
Vulnerable and fixed packages
Distribution-reported package versions and fixes. These do not depend on matching against the OpenFactory package catalog.
| Distribution | Package | Release | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | jabref | sid | 3.8.2+ds-19 | not affected |
| Debian | jabref | forky | 3.8.2+ds-19 | not affected |
| Debian | jabref | trixie | 3.8.2+ds-17 | not affected |
| Debian | jabref | bookworm | 3.8.2+ds-17 | not affected |
Fixed-version evidence
| Distribution | Package | Type | Release | Fixed version | Urgency | Origin | Bugs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | jabref | source | sid | Not affected | unimportant | Not reported | Not reported |
| Debian | jabref | source | forky | Not affected | unimportant | Not reported | Not reported |
| Debian | jabref | source | trixie | Not affected | unimportant | Not reported | Not reported |
| Debian | jabref | source | bookworm | Not affected | unimportant | Not reported | Not reported |
OpenFactory catalog packages
[Debian 12 (Bookworm)]
- [jabref]Not affected
Details (2)
3.8.2+ds-17· all · bookwormNot affected
nvd · jabref · debian · bookworm
3.8.2+ds-17· all · bookwormNot affected
nvd · jabref · debian · bookworm
Observed: