CVE-2026-30312: DSAI-Cline Command Injection RCE Flaw

CVE-2026-30312 Overview

DSAI-Cline's command auto-approval module contains a critical OS command injection vulnerability (CWE-78) that renders its whitelist security mechanism completely ineffective. The system relies on string-based parsing to validate commands; while it intercepts dangerous operators such as ;, &&, ||, |, and command substitution patterns, it fails to account for raw newline characters embedded within the input. An attacker can construct a payload by embedding a literal newline between a whitelisted command and malicious code (e.g., git log\nmalicious_command), forcing DSAI-Cline to misidentify it as a safe operation and automatically approve it. The underlying PowerShell interpreter treats the newline as a command separator, executing both commands sequentially, resulting in Remote Code Execution without any user interaction.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass the command whitelist security mechanism entirely and achieve arbitrary command execution on affected systems through newline injection. No user interaction is required for exploitation.

Affected Products

• DSAI-Cline (command auto-approval module)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-31 - CVE-2026-30312 published to NVD
• 2026-04-01 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-30312

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents a classic command injection flaw where input validation relies on blacklist-based filtering that proves insufficient against creative attacker input. The DSAI-Cline command auto-approval module is designed to automatically approve certain "safe" commands while blocking potentially dangerous operations. However, the validation logic focuses exclusively on blocking known dangerous shell operators and command substitution patterns while overlooking the fundamental behavior of shell interpreters when processing newline characters.

The root cause lies in the semantic gap between how the validation logic interprets command strings versus how the underlying PowerShell interpreter processes them. When a raw newline character (\n or 0x0A) is embedded within a command string, the validator continues to parse the entire input as a single command starting with a whitelisted operation. However, when this same string is passed to PowerShell for execution, the interpreter correctly recognizes the newline as a command terminator and statement separator.

Root Cause

The vulnerability stems from incomplete input sanitization in the command validation routine. The whitelist validation mechanism performs string-based pattern matching to identify dangerous command operators but fails to normalize or reject embedded newline characters before evaluation. This creates an exploitable condition where:

1. The validator examines the command string and matches only the first line containing a whitelisted command
2. The newline character passes through validation undetected
3. The entire string, including malicious commands after the newline, is passed to PowerShell
4. PowerShell interprets the newline as a command separator and executes all commands sequentially

Attack Vector

This vulnerability is exploitable over the network without authentication or user interaction. An attacker crafts a specially formed input string that begins with any whitelisted command (such as git log) followed by a raw newline character and arbitrary malicious commands. Because the auto-approval system evaluates only the whitelisted portion of the string, it grants automatic execution approval for the entire payload.

The attack mechanism involves embedding a literal newline character (not the escaped sequence \n, but the actual ASCII 0x0A byte) between a benign whitelisted command and malicious code. When this payload is submitted to DSAI-Cline, the command validation module parses the input, identifies the whitelisted command prefix, and approves the operation without further scrutiny. The PowerShell interpreter then receives the full payload and processes each line as a separate command, executing both the safe command and the attacker's malicious payload.

For detailed technical analysis and proof-of-concept information, refer to the GitHub Issue Discussion and the GitHub PoC Repository.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-30312

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected command execution logged immediately following approved whitelisted commands like git log, ls, or other safe operations
• Presence of raw newline characters (ASCII 0x0A) within command strings in application logs
• PowerShell execution logs showing sequential command execution from what appears to be a single approved request
• System process creation events spawning from DSAI-Cline with unexpected or malicious command arguments

Detection Strategies

• Implement deep packet inspection rules to identify payloads containing embedded newline characters within command parameter fields
• Configure SIEM correlation rules to detect patterns where an approved command is immediately followed by potentially malicious command execution
• Monitor PowerShell script block logging for evidence of multi-line command execution originating from single DSAI-Cline requests
• Deploy behavioral analysis to identify anomalous process spawning patterns from the DSAI-Cline application context

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging within DSAI-Cline to capture full command strings including non-printable characters
• Configure PowerShell transcription and module logging to maintain complete records of command execution
• Implement process creation auditing (Windows Event ID 4688) with command-line argument capture
• Monitor for outbound network connections or file system modifications following routine DSAI-Cline command approvals

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-30312

Immediate Actions Required

• Disable the command auto-approval feature in DSAI-Cline until a patch is available
• Implement network segmentation to limit potential impact from systems running vulnerable DSAI-Cline installations
• Review recent logs for evidence of exploitation attempts involving embedded newline characters
• Consider deploying application-level firewall rules to reject inputs containing raw newline characters in command fields

Patch Information

No vendor patch information is currently available in the CVE data. Organizations should monitor the GitHub Issue Discussion and the GitHub PoC Repository for updates on official fixes. Until an official patch is released, implement the workarounds described below and consider disabling affected functionality.

Workarounds

• Disable the auto-approval module entirely and require manual approval for all command executions
• Implement a wrapper or proxy layer that sanitizes input by stripping or rejecting newline characters before they reach the validation module
• Restrict network access to DSAI-Cline interfaces using firewall rules to limit exposure
• Deploy application whitelisting solutions to restrict which processes can be spawned by DSAI-Cline

Organizations requiring continued use of command auto-approval functionality should implement input sanitization at the network perimeter or application proxy layer to strip newline characters (0x0A and 0x0D) from all command input fields before processing.