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CVE-2026-75650 is a critical remote code execution vulnerability affecting Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source, rated 10.0 on the CVSS v3.1 scale. The flaw resides in the template engine component responsible for rendering dynamic content on storefronts and administrative interfaces. The core technical failure is the improper neutralization of special elements—such as delimiters, escape characters, and control structures—that the templating language uses. When an attacker provides maliciously crafted input that is subsequently processed by this engine, the system fails to distinguish between legitimate data and executable code instructions embedded within that data.
Modern e-commerce platforms like Adobe Commerce rely heavily on server-side rendering to generate personalized user experiences, product listings, and checkout flows. These systems utilize powerful templating engines that allow complex logic execution during page generation. The vulnerability arises because the engine processes certain input sequences as executable commands rather than static text strings. An attacker can exploit this by injecting specific syntax patterns into any field or parameter that is reflected back through the template rendering process without sufficient escaping mechanisms. This allows the injection of arbitrary code snippets that are interpreted and executed by the server’s runtime environment.
The attack chain, dubbed “StyleSmuggler” by security researchers, follows two distinct stages. First, attacker-controlled PHP content is written into a file that Magento can later access, such as an application log or report. A second request then causes Magento’s template-processing chain to reach dependency-injection scanner functionality that loads the poisoned file using PHP include or require_once. Because these functions interpret PHP rather than merely reading the file, the attacker-controlled code executes on the server. Attackers deliberately trigger Magento’s normal Payment Transaction Failed Reminder email to initiate the chain—the malicious code runs while Magento renders the template, so no customer or administrator needs to open the email. The exploit can even succeed when actual email delivery fails.
Exploitation does not require user interaction, significantly lowering the barrier for attackers and enabling automated scanning tools. The scope is changed, meaning an attacker with initially limited access could potentially escalate privileges or affect other parts of the system architecture through lateral movement. Successful exploitation leads to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user running the web server process—if the web service runs with elevated privileges, an attacker gains full control over the underlying operating system. Even under a restricted account, the ability to execute arbitrary code allows significant data exfiltration, modification of critical business logic, installation of persistent backdoors, and use of the compromised server as a pivot point for further attacks.
First confirmed exploitation occurred on September 4, 2026, at 22:20 UTC. Adobe released an emergency hotfix (APSB26-146, VULN-39341) on September 7, 2026. Affected versions include Adobe Commerce 2.4.4 through 2.4.9 and earlier, as well as corresponding Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce B2B branches.
DailyCVE Form:
Platform: Adobe Commerce
Version: 2.4.4-2.4.9
Vulnerability: Template Engine RCE
Severity: CRITICAL
date: 2026-09-08
Prediction: Patch: 2026-09-07
What Undercode Say:
Analytics:
- CVSS Score: 10.0 (Critical)
- Attack Vector: Network
- Attack Complexity: Low
- Privileges Required: None
- User Interaction: None
- Scope: Changed
- Confidentiality Impact: High
- Integrity Impact: High
- Availability Impact: High
- CWE: 1336 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine)
- EPSS Score: High (active exploitation in wild)
- KEV: Catalogued (CISA known exploited vulnerability)
- Public Exploit: PoC available (restricted)
- Patch Availability: Emergency hotfix released
Bash Commands & Codes:
Check for suspicious PHP files in media/catalog
find pub/media/catalog/product/cache/ -name “.php” -type f -ls
Search for unexpected report files with x_trace_ strings
grep -r “x_trace_” var/report/ 2>/dev/null
Look for malicious processes masquerading as system tasks
ps aux | grep -E “\[kworker/u:8:0\]|fc-cache|chronyd”
Check for hidden web shells under media directories
find pub/media/ -name “ss_.php” -o -name “sync_.php” 2>/dev/null
Identify unusual cron jobs
crontab -l | grep -E “fc-cache|\.cache”
Search for Payment Transaction Failed Reminder anomalies in logs
grep -i “Payment Transaction Failed Reminder” var/log/.log
Check for outbound UDP/123 traffic (NTP disguise)
ss -uap | grep 123
Verify hotfix application status
composer show | grep -i “patch\|hotfix\|VULN-39341”
Rotate encryption keys after patching
bin/magento config:set system/security/encryption_key
Exploit: (Educational Purposes!)
The exploitation chain leverages the template engine’s failure to sanitize special characters. An attacker crafts a payload containing template directives that, when processed, write attacker-controlled PHP code to a writable file (e.g., under var/report/). A subsequent request triggers the dependency-injection scanner to include that file via PHP’s include/require_once, executing the embedded code. The attack is typically initiated by triggering the Payment Transaction Failed Reminder email template, which passes the malicious input through the rendering pipeline without proper neutralization. No authentication or user interaction is required. The following conceptual request pattern demonstrates the vector (sanitized for educational use):
POST /rest/V1/… HTTP/1.1
Host: target.com
Content-Type: application/json
{“template”:”{{config path=’…’}}{{php code injection}}{{/config}}”}
The injected PHP code is written to a report file and later included, achieving remote code execution with the web server’s privileges.
Protection:
- Apply Adobe’s emergency hotfix VULN-39341 (APSB26-146) immediately to all affected Adobe Commerce, Magento Open Source, and Adobe Commerce B2B instances.
- Rotate encryption keys after applying the hotfix to invalidate any secrets that may have been exposed during exploitation.
- Restrict network access to administrative interfaces and limit outbound traffic from application servers.
- Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block suspicious template injection patterns and request payloads containing PHP code constructs.
- Monitor for indicators of compromise: unexpected Payment Transaction Failed Reminder emails, suspicious PHP files under pub/media/ or var/report/, processes masquerading as [kworker/u:8:0], fc-cache, or chronyd, and outbound UDP/123 traffic.
- Conduct forensic review of logs between September 4 and patch application to identify potential prior exploitation.
- Harden file system permissions to prevent write access to directories that should not be writable by the web server.
- Enable detailed logging and alerting for template processing errors and unusual include/require operations.
Impact:
Successful exploitation allows an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary PHP code on the target server in the context of the web server process. This can lead to complete compromise of the e-commerce platform, including:
– Theft of customer payment data, personally identifiable information, and order histories
– Exfiltration of encryption keys, database credentials, and application secrets
– Defacement of storefront and manipulation of product catalogs, pricing, and checkout logic
– Installation of persistent backdoors (Rust-based implants or PHP web shells) for long-term access
– Lateral movement to internal network resources, potentially compromising broader enterprise infrastructure
– Use of compromised servers as staging points for further attacks or cryptocurrency mining operations
– Reputational damage, regulatory fines, and loss of customer trust due to data breach incidents
– Service disruption and denial of availability through malicious code execution that crashes or overloads the application
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Sources:
Reported By: www.cve.org
Extra Source Hub:
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