CVE-2026-65091: NVIDIA OpenShell RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2026-65091 Overview

CVE-2026-65091 is an operating system command injection vulnerability [CWE-78] affecting NVIDIA OpenShell across all supported platforms. A malicious gateway can inject arbitrary operating system commands into OpenShell, leading to code execution, data tampering, and information disclosure. The flaw is exploitable over the network and requires user interaction to trigger. NVIDIA published the advisory through its product security repository and NVD assigned the identifier under the 2026 CVE series.

Critical Impact
A malicious gateway can execute arbitrary OS commands on hosts running NVIDIA OpenShell, resulting in full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the affected system.

Affected Products

NVIDIA OpenShell (all platforms)
Specific version ranges: Not Available in NVD data
Refer to the NVIDIA Product Security Notes for supported versions

Discovery Timeline

2026-08-25 - CVE-2026-65091 published to NVD
2026-08-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-65091

Vulnerability Analysis

NVIDIA OpenShell contains an OS command injection weakness [CWE-78] in its handling of data received from an upstream gateway. When OpenShell processes gateway-supplied input, it passes attacker-influenced strings into a system command interpreter without sufficient neutralization of shell metacharacters. An attacker who controls or impersonates the gateway can append arbitrary commands that execute in the context of the OpenShell process.

Successful exploitation grants the attacker the ability to run arbitrary code, modify local data, and read sensitive information from the host. Because OpenShell often runs with elevated privileges to manage system-level resources, the impact extends beyond the application boundary to the underlying operating system.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command. OpenShell concatenates gateway-supplied values into command strings that are dispatched to a shell interpreter. Shell metacharacters such as ;, |, &, and backticks are not escaped or filtered, enabling command chaining.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker must operate or compromise a gateway that an OpenShell client communicates with, then serve a crafted response containing shell metacharacters. When the user initiates or accepts the interaction with the malicious gateway, OpenShell parses the response and executes the embedded commands. No prior authentication to the target host is required.

Verified proof-of-concept code is not publicly available. See the NVIDIA Product Security Notes for vendor-supplied technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-65091

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by the OpenShell binary, particularly sh, bash, cmd.exe, or powershell.exe.
Outbound connections from OpenShell hosts to untrusted or previously unseen gateway endpoints.
Shell metacharacters (;, |, &&, backticks) present in OpenShell request or response logs.

Detection Strategies

Baseline the normal process tree for OpenShell and alert on deviations that involve interpreters or scripting utilities.
Inspect gateway responses at the network layer for command-injection patterns before they reach client hosts.
Correlate OpenShell activity with subsequent file writes, credential access, or lateral-movement telemetry.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable command-line auditing on all hosts running OpenShell and forward events to a central analytics platform.
Monitor gateway certificate changes and DNS resolution shifts that could indicate a rogue or hijacked gateway.
Alert on OpenShell processes writing to temporary directories, scheduled task locations, or startup paths.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-65091

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the NVIDIA-supplied patch for OpenShell as documented in the NVIDIA Product Security Notes.
Inventory all hosts running OpenShell and prioritize patching for systems that communicate with external or untrusted gateways.
Restrict OpenShell outbound connectivity to a known-good list of gateway hosts.

Patch Information

NVIDIA has published remediation guidance in its product security repository. Consult the NVIDIA Product Security Notes for advisory 5872 for fixed versions, upgrade instructions, and platform-specific packages. Additional metadata is available in the NVD entry for CVE-2026-65091 and the CVE.org record.

Workarounds

Route OpenShell traffic exclusively through trusted, authenticated gateways and enforce mutual TLS where supported.
Run OpenShell under a least-privilege service account to limit the blast radius of successful command injection.
Segment OpenShell hosts on the network to prevent lateral movement if a gateway is compromised.

bash

# Configuration example: restrict OpenShell egress to an approved gateway
# Replace GATEWAY_IP with the authorized gateway address
iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp -d GATEWAY_IP --dport 443 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A OUTPUT -m owner --uid-owner openshell -j REJECT