CVE-2020-26284
HIGHCVE-2020-26284 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.5) OS Command Injection vulnerability in github.com/gohugoio/hugo. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2020-26284 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Hugo can execute a binary from the current directory on Windows
Real-World Exposure
github.com/gohugoio/hugoReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Hugo is a fast and Flexible Static Site Generator built in Go. Hugo depends on Go's os/exec for certain features, e.g. for rendering of Pandoc documents if these binaries are found in the system %PATH% on Windows. In Hugo before version 0.79.1, if a malicious file with the same name (exe or bat) is found in the current working directory at the time of running hugo, the malicious command will be invoked instead of the system one. Windows users who run hugo inside untrusted Hugo sites are affected. Users should upgrade to Hugo v0.79.1. Other than avoiding untrusted Hugo sites, there is no workaround.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/gohugoio/hugo | all versions | 0.79.1 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/gohugoio/hugo. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update github.com/gohugoio/hugo to 0.79.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-26284 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2020-26284 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2020-26284. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-26284 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2020-26284 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.