# CVE-2026-76229: Renovate arbitrary command injection in kustomize manager

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-76229-renovate-arbitrary-command-injection-in-kustomize-manager  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-01-13. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-76229 · Severity: low · CVSS 3.1 · Published 2026-01-13

Renovate is a popular dependency update automation tool used to keep software packages up-to-date. The tool is vulnerable to arbitrary command execution when processing Helm charts via kustomization files, allowing attackers with write access to a monitored repository to execute malicious commands on the machine running Renovate. This could lead to complete compromise of the build/deployment pipeline.

Technologies: [renovate (npm)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/renovate). Vendors: [npm](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/npm).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-76229 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-76229 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-76229?** Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.1, published 13 January 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** renovate (npm) SEMVER:introduced=39.218.0,fixed=40.33.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-76229?** Yes. renovate (npm): upgrade to 40.33.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-76229 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-76229?** Check whether you run renovate (npm) 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.

## How to fix

- renovate (npm): upgrade to 40.33.0 or later

  ```sh
  npm install renovate@40.33.0
  ```


## Technical details

This is a command injection vulnerability (CWE-77) in the kustomize manager module where user-provided Helm chart names are appended to helm pull commands without proper shell escaping. The vulnerable code in lib/modules/manager/kustomize/artifacts.ts fails to sanitize the depName argument using shlex.quote() before passing it to the shell. An attacker can craft a malicious kustomization.yaml with a chart name containing shell metacharacters (e.g., "example || kill 1; echo") in conjunction with a crafted Helm repository index to achieve arbitrary command execution. The attack requires write access to a repository configured for Renovate scanning, but no user interaction is needed once the malicious config is in place. This vulnerability affects versions 39.218.0 through 40.32.x, with a patch available in version 40.33.0 and later.

## Affected products

- Renovate Renovate 39.218.0 to 40.32.x

## Identifiers

- CVE-2026-76229
- GHSA-xv56-3wq5-9997

## Timeline

- 2026-01-13: disclosed: Advisory GHSA-xv56-3wq5-9997 published
- 2026-01-13: patched: Fix available in version 40.33.0 and later

## References

- [https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate/security/advisories/GHSA-xv56-3wq5-9997](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate/security/advisories/GHSA-xv56-3wq5-9997)
- [https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)

## Related threats

- [Renovate arbitrary command injection via Gradle Wrapper distributionUrl](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-76228-renovate-arbitrary-command-injection-via-gradle-wrapper)
- [Renovate remote code execution in bazel-module and bazelisk managers](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-76226-renovate-remote-code-execution-in-bazel-module-and-bazelisk)
- [Renovate arbitrary command injection via helmv3 registryAliases](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2024-58376-renovate-arbitrary-command-injection-via-helmv3-registryaliases)
- [Renovate helmv3 command injection via Chart.yaml](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-76232-renovate-helmv3-command-injection-via-chart-yaml)
- [Renovate arbitrary command injection via gleam manager](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-76233-renovate-arbitrary-command-injection-via-gleam-manager)