# CVE-2026-44463: Zed Industries Zed terminal tool permission bypass via environment variables

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-44463-zed-industries-zed-terminal-tool-permission-bypass-via  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-05-28. Updated: 2026-05-28  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-44463 · Severity: high · CVSS 8.6 · Published 2026-05-28

Zed is a high-performance code editor. A security flaw in its terminal tool permission system allows an attacker to bypass security restrictions by injecting environment variables into approved commands. If an attacker can influence the editor's AI agent or automated tools, they could execute unauthorized commands on the user's computer, potentially leading to full system compromise or data theft.

Technologies: [Zed Industries Zed](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/zed). Vendors: [Zed Industries](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/zed-industries).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-44463 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-44463 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-44463?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.6, published 28 May 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Zed Industries Zed < 0.229.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-44463?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-44463 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a network appliance.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-44463?** Check whether you run Zed Industries Zed at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

A vulnerability exists in Zed's terminal tool permission system where the regex-based allowlist fails to account for inline environment variable assignments (e.g., VAR=value cmd). By prepending these assignments to an allowlisted command like 'git', an attacker can manipulate environment variables such as PAGER, EDITOR, or GIT_SSH_COMMAND to execute arbitrary external programs. This is particularly exploitable via AI agent tool calls that can be tricked into running malicious payloads. The issue is rooted in improper neutralization of special elements (CWE-78) and an incomplete allowlist (CWE-184). A fix is available in version 0.229.0.

## Affected products

- Zed Industries Zed < 0.229.0

## Timeline

- 2026-05-08: advisory: GitHub Security Advisory published
- 2026-05-28: disclosed: CVE published to NVD

## References

- [https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/security/advisories/GHSA-c3g6-c3ff-69cg](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/security/advisories/GHSA-c3g6-c3ff-69cg)

## Related threats

- [Zed Industries Zed command injection in terminal tool permissions](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-44466-zed-industries-zed-command-injection-in-terminal-tool-permissions)
- [Zed code editor command injection via Bash expansion in terminal tool](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-44462-zed-code-editor-command-injection-via-bash-expansion-in-terminal)
- [Zed code editor command injection in SSH and WSL remote sessions](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-44461-zed-code-editor-command-injection-in-ssh-and-wsl-remote-sessions)