High severity · published Jun 22, 2026
CVE-2026-41523
vLLM: Security Check Bypass via assert Statement in Activation Function Loading Allows Arbitrary Code Execution
7.5
CVSS
0.9%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
vLLM is an inference and serving engine for large language models (LLMs). Prior to 0.22.0, an assert-based security check in vLLM's activation function loading allows any unauthenticated attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution on the server by publishing a malicious HuggingFace model, when vLLM runs in Python optimized mode (python -O or PYTHONOPTIMIZE=1). This vulnerability is fixed in 0.22.0.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.9% · higher than 60% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
VL
vllm · vllm-project
< 0.22.0 · source: vendor, NVD
RH
Red Hat AI Inference Server · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: CISA
RH
Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.2 · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: CISA
RH
Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.3 · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: CISA
RH
Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.4 · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: CISA
RH
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.3 · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: CISA
RH
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.4 · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: CISA
RH
Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: CISA