---
id: CVE-2026-75926
title: >-
  Hugo 0.161.0 placed the Node asset pipelines behind the Node.js permission
  model so that code running through PostCSS, Babel, or TailwindCSS could not
  reach the file system outside the project directory
summary: >-
  Hugo 0.161.0 placed the Node asset pipelines behind the Node.js permission
  model so that code running through PostCSS, Babel, or TailwindCSS could not
  reach the file system outside the project directory. Hugo 0.162.0 added
  tailwindcss to…
severity: high
cvss: 8.6
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-1188
vendor: gohugoio
product: hugo
affected:
  - hugo >= 0.162.0 < 0.165.0
published: '2026-08-18'
updated: '2026-09-24'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-24T20:02:50.260'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-75926'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/blob/v0.164.0/common/hexec/exec.go#L292-L295
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/blob/v0.164.0/config/security/securityConfig.go#L72-L79
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/commit/8a55df7af2e6da31297245cc54fa2e3b521d93e8
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/issues/15178'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: >-
      https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/hugo-to-x-node-permission-model-bypass-via-default-tailwindcss-child-process-grant
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00218
epssPercentile: 0.1087
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2026-08-19T00:00:00+00:00'
ingestedAt: '2026-09-24T15:45:56.699Z'
---

## Overview

Hugo 0.161.0 placed the Node asset pipelines behind the Node.js permission model so that code running through PostCSS, Babel, or TailwindCSS could not reach the file system outside the project directory. Hugo 0.162.0 added tailwindcss to the AllowChildProcess default in config/security/securityConfig.go, which makes nodePermissionArgs in common/hexec/exec.go append --allow-child-process whenever the tool being launched is named tailwindcss. TailwindCSS loads the site's tailwind.config.js through require at startup, so top-level code in that file executes inside the permitted Node process and can call child_process to spawn a shell. The spawned process is not a Node process and inherits none of the permission flags, so it runs with the full privileges of the account performing the build. Building a site whose theme, module, or starter template supplies the Tailwind configuration therefore yields arbitrary command execution rather than the confined file access the permission model was introduced to enforce. Hugo 0.165.0 removes tailwindcss from the default security.exec.allow list, so the tool is no longer launched under the default configuration.

## Remediation

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