Description
Flawfinder is a a static analysis tool for finding vulnerabilities in C/C++ source code. Versions prior to 2.0.20 have an improper input neutralization issue leading to output manipulation, specifically, Terminal/ANSI Escape Sequence Injection and XML Injection. A malicious file whose name contains ANSI escape sequences can end up being included in flawfinder's standard terminal output, with many effects. Untrusted fields (such as filenames, categories, or code context text) were not properly sanitized when generating structured reports. An attacker could exploit this to corrupt CSV formats or inject arbitrary XML attributes into SonarQube outputs via output_sonar(). It impacts those who use flawfinder to evaluate intentionally malicious filenames or file contents. This issue has been fully patched in Version 2.0.20 (released 2026-05-16). There is no configuration-based workaround within older versions of flawfinder. If an immediate upgrade is not possible, users can mitigate the risk by pre-scanning filenames, inspecting raw output, and/or restricting untrusted inputs.
Published: 2026-08-11
Score: 8.7 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

No analysis available yet.

Remediation

No remediation available yet.

Tracking

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-4c3c-r6p8-c863 Flawfinder output manipulation via untrusted filenames and source text
History

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Tue, 11 Aug 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Flawfinder is a a static analysis tool for finding vulnerabilities in C/C++ source code. Versions prior to 2.0.20 have an improper input neutralization issue leading to output manipulation, specifically, Terminal/ANSI Escape Sequence Injection and XML Injection. A malicious file whose name contains ANSI escape sequences can end up being included in flawfinder's standard terminal output, with many effects. Untrusted fields (such as filenames, categories, or code context text) were not properly sanitized when generating structured reports. An attacker could exploit this to corrupt CSV formats or inject arbitrary XML attributes into SonarQube outputs via output_sonar(). It impacts those who use flawfinder to evaluate intentionally malicious filenames or file contents. This issue has been fully patched in Version 2.0.20 (released 2026-05-16). There is no configuration-based workaround within older versions of flawfinder. If an immediate upgrade is not possible, users can mitigate the risk by pre-scanning filenames, inspecting raw output, and/or restricting untrusted inputs.
Title Flawfinder output manipulation via untrusted filenames and source text
Weaknesses CWE-74
References
Metrics cvssV4_0

{'score': 8.7, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}


Subscriptions

No data.

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GitHub_M

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-12T13:09:06.456Z

Reserved: 2026-05-22T20:57:10.976Z

Link: CVE-2026-48813

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-08-12T13:09:02.417Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-08-11T20:17:43.207

Modified: 2026-08-11T20:17:43.207

Link: CVE-2026-48813

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses
  • CWE-74

    Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')