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CVE-2026-25129 Detail

Description

PsySH is a runtime developer console, interactive debugger, and REPL for PHP. Prior to versions 0.11.23 and 0.12.19, PsySH automatically loads and executes a `.psysh.php` file from the Current Working Directory (CWD) on startup. If an attacker can write to a directory that a victim later uses as their CWD when launching PsySH, the attacker can trigger arbitrary code execution in the victim's context. When the victim runs PsySH with elevated privileges (e.g., root), this results in local privilege escalation. This is a CWD configuration poisoning issue leading to arbitrary code execution in the victim user’s context. If a privileged user (e.g., root, a CI runner, or an ops/debug account) launches PsySH with CWD set to an attacker-writable directory containing a malicious `.psysh.php`, the attacker can execute commands with that privileged user’s permissions, resulting in local privilege escalation. Downstream consumers that embed PsySH inherit this risk. For example, Laravel Tinker (`php artisan tinker`) uses PsySH. If a privileged user runs Tinker while their shell is in an attacker-writable directory, the `.psysh.php` auto-load behavior can be abused in the same way to execute attacker-controlled code under the victim’s privileges. Versions 0.11.23 and 0.12.19 patch the issue.


Metrics

NVD enrichment efforts reference publicly available information to associate vector strings. CVSS information contributed by other sources is also displayed.
CVSS 4.0 Severity and Vector Strings:

NIST CVSS score
NIST: NVD
N/A
NVD assessment not yet provided.

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

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URL Source(s) Tag(s)
https://github.com/bobthecow/psysh/releases/tag/v0.11.23 GitHub, Inc.
https://github.com/bobthecow/psysh/releases/tag/v0.12.19 GitHub, Inc.
https://github.com/bobthecow/psysh/security/advisories/GHSA-4486-gxhx-5mg7 GitHub, Inc.

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-ID CWE Name Source
CWE-427 Uncontrolled Search Path Element GitHub, Inc.  

Change History

1 change records found show changes

Quick Info

CVE Dictionary Entry:
CVE-2026-25129
NVD Published Date:
01/30/2026
NVD Last Modified:
01/30/2026
Source:
GitHub, Inc.