---
id: CVE-2026-68766
title: >-
  hashcat fails to restrict command-line options when parsing restore files,
  allowing attackers to inject output-redirecting options like --outfile and
  --potfile-path
summary: >-
  hashcat fails to restrict command-line options when parsing restore files,
  allowing attackers to inject output-redirecting options like --outfile and
  --potfile-path. Attackers can craft restore files with malicious options to
  append atta…
severity: high
cvss: 7.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-88
published: '2026-08-22'
updated: '2026-09-24'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-24T20:43:32.537'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68766'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/hashcat/hashcat'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/hashcat/hashcat/blob/v7.1.2/src/restore.c#L365-L369'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/hashcat/hashcat/commit/fcae69f2438ff8eae0dc8e206b78067a1e465ed4
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/hashcat/hashcat/issues/4738'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: >-
      https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/hashcat-through-arbitrary-file-write-via-restore-file-option-injection
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/hashcat/hashcat/issues/4738'
    label: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00235
epssPercentile: 0.12897
ingestedAt: '2026-08-23T04:42:15.467Z'
---

## Overview

hashcat fails to restrict command-line options when parsing restore files, allowing attackers to inject output-redirecting options like --outfile and --potfile-path. Attackers can craft restore files with malicious options to append attacker-controlled content to arbitrary files, enabling code execution when targeting shell startup files.

## Remediation

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