External risk intelligence

Kedro Unsafe Logging RCE Vulnerability

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2026-35171

Kedro is a development framework and toolbox for data science pipelines. It is typically used in local development environments, CI/CD pipelines, or internal data processing workflows rather than as a public-facing network service. The vulnerability requires control over environment variables during application startup, which is not a common attack vector for public internet-facing services.

Code Injection

Linuxfoundation Kedro

before 1.3.0

Halo Surface Signal: 1 out of 5 — much less likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

This advisory addresses a critical remote code execution vulnerability in Kedro, a data science toolbox. The issue stems from how the software handles logging configuration, allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary system commands during application startup by manipulating environment variables.

Unsafe logging configuration allows remote command execution.
Affects data science pipelines; confirm relevance in your environment.
Prioritize verifying exposure to secure data science operations.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could gain the ability to run arbitrary commands on a system running Kedro by manipulating a logging configuration file. This is possible because Kedro allows the path to this configuration file to be set through an environment variable without proper validation. When Kedro starts up, it processes this configuration, and a flaw in how it handles certain parts of the configuration allows an attacker to inject commands that are then executed by the system.

No special access required.
Arbitrary command execution.
Complete system compromise.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

This vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary system commands during application startup when Kedro loads an unvalidated logging configuration file specified by an environment variable. This could impact the integrity and availability of the system.

System commands could be executed.
Attackers could provide a malicious logging configuration.
Arbitrary code execution on the system.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

This vulnerability in Kedro affects applications that load logging configuration from an untrusted source, potentially leading to arbitrary command execution during startup. Identifying instances of Kedro, assessing their reachability and business criticality, and confirming ownership are the crucial first steps to managing this risk. Coordination with the vendor or development teams for patching or implementing compensating controls should follow.

Data science platform or application owners.
Verify Kedro configuration sources and reachability.
Plan for Kedro upgrade or environment hardening.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Kedro?

Kedro is a software framework and toolbox designed for building production-ready data science pipelines. It is widely used by data scientists and engineers to manage, modularize, and standardize data processing workflows in development, CI/CD, and internal analytics environments.

What is the vulnerability in CVE-2026-35171?

This is a remote code execution (RCE) flaw classified under CWE-94 (Code Injection) and CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data). It occurs because Kedro fails to validate the logging configuration file path provided via an environment variable. Because the logging system allows special keys that can instantiate arbitrary functions, an attacker can craft a configuration that executes unintended system commands when the application starts.

How does an attacker trigger this vulnerability?

An attacker triggers this by manipulating the KEDRO_LOGGING_CONFIG environment variable to point to a malicious configuration file they control. The flaw is not triggered if the environment variable is unset or points only to trusted, local configuration files that do not contain the vulnerable dictionary keys used for command execution.

Is my system at risk if it runs Kedro?

According to Halo Surface Signal, this risk is very unlikely for public-facing services because Kedro is typically used in local development, CI/CD, or internal workflows. If your instance is not accessible to outsiders who can influence the application startup environment, the threat is significantly lower. Evaluate if external users or untrusted processes have the capability to set environment variables on your system.

How do I fix CVE-2026-35171?

The primary resolution is to upgrade your Kedro installation to version 1.3.0 or later, which addresses the unsafe handling of the logging configuration. As a first step, perform an inventory to locate all Kedro deployments in your environment, assess who has access to configure their startup variables, and coordinate with your data science teams to prioritize the upgrade.

References

github.com/kedro-org/kedro/security/advisories/GHSA-9cqf-439c-j96r

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.