High severity · published May 12, 2026
CVE-2026-44301
Hugo: Node tool execution allows file system access outside the project directory
8.1
CVSS
0.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Hugo is a static site generator. From 0.43 to before 0.161.0, when building a Hugo site that uses Node-based asset pipelines (PostCSS, Babel, TailwindCSS), Hugo invoked the configured Node tools without restrictions on file system access. As a result, executing hugo against an untrusted site could allow code running through these tools to read or write files outside the project's working directory. Users who do not use PostCSS, Babel, or TailwindCSS, or who only build trusted sites, are not affected. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.161.0.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.3% · higher than 20% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
HU
hugo · gohugoio
>= 0.43.0, < 0.161.0 · source: vendor, NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44301
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44301
Mitigation
https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/security/advisories/GHSA-x597-9fr4-5857
More from hugo
9.8
CVE-2026-89259
Hugo before v0.165.0 Insufficient Permission Restriction via TailwindCSS
8.6
CVE-2026-75926
Hugo 0.162.0 to 0.164.x - Node Permission Model Bypass via Default TailwindCSS Child-Process Grant
8.4
CVE-2026-100693
Hugo v0.162.0 before v0.166.0 IP-literal Deny Rule Bypass
7.5
CVE-2026-100692
Hugo before v0.166.0 Path Traversal via Symlinked Mount Roots
7.5
CVE-2026-100690
Hugo v0.161.0 to v0.165.0 Arbitrary File Read via Symlinks
