---
id: CVE-2026-53942
title: >-
  Conda Organization Infrastructure: Pwn Request in update workflow allows
  PR-controlled template rendering with SYNC_TOKEN
summary: >-
  Conda Organization Infrastructure is a centralized location for infrastructure
  codes. Prior to commit 9c0f238, a GitHub Actions Pwn Request vulnerability
  appears to remain present in conda/conda. The affected workflow is
  .github/workflow…
severity: critical
cvss: 9.9
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-94
vendor: conda
product: infrastructure
affected:
  - infrastructure < 9c0f23857282ff5cf7a6b3ad6bf0dd6f9974be55
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2026-10-23T14:54:29.744728Z'
published: '2026-10-23'
updated: '2026-10-23'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-23T14:57:32.991Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53942'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/conda/infrastructure/security/advisories/GHSA-pf87-fcg3-wjfh
    label: >-
      https://github.com/conda/infrastructure/security/advisories/GHSA-pf87-fcg3-wjfh
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/conda/infrastructure/commit/9c0f23857282ff5cf7a6b3ad6bf0dd6f9974be55
    label: >-
      https://github.com/conda/infrastructure/commit/9c0f23857282ff5cf7a6b3ad6bf0dd6f9974be55
tags:
  - cve.org
ingestedAt: '2026-10-23T14:28:08.689Z'
---

## Overview

Conda Organization Infrastructure is a centralized location for infrastructure codes. Prior to commit 9c0f238, a GitHub Actions Pwn Request vulnerability appears to remain present in conda/conda. The affected workflow is .github/workflows/update.yml. It is triggered by issue_comment events containing @conda-bot render or @conda-bot recreate. For the render path, the workflow obtains the pull request head repository and branch from the PR API, checks out that PR-controlled repository/ref using secrets.SYNC_TOKEN, and then runs conda/actions/template-files@7f6830b1428a9bd47f0b068892c77eae95207037. The external template-files action reads its default configuration and templates from the checked-out working directory. In the confirmed finding, that action uses an unsandboxed Jinja2 environment to render attacker-controlled template content. This creates a Pwn Request chain in which an untrusted PR/comment path can reach template rendering in a privileged token context. This issue has been patched via commit 9c0f238.

## Affected

- `infrastructure < 9c0f23857282ff5cf7a6b3ad6bf0dd6f9974be55`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.