CVE-2026-50006: Anyquery: Arbitrary File Write (AFW) which could lead to Remote Code Execution (RCE) via Unrestricted ATTACH DATABASE in Server Mode

Should you act?

Critical and remotely reachable

No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• Not in CISA KEV, but CISA’s SSVC assessment records a public proof-of-concept, so attack code exists.
• EPSS 1.0%, percentile 62: FIRST’s model estimates a 1.0% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 62% of all scored CVEs (moderate). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes github.com/julien040/anyquery (Go) < 0.4.5, no fixed version listed. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

Anyquery is an SQL query engine built on top of SQLite. Prior to 0.4.5, anyquery server forwards unauthenticated SQL from its MySQL-compatible server port to SQLite without restricting ATTACH DATABASE filesystem targets. A remote attacker can select any path writable by the Anyquery server process, cause SQLite to create a database file there, and place attacker-controlled table content in that file. This permits arbitrary file creation or overwrite, causing filesystem integrity loss and denial of service; remote code execution is possible only when another service interprets the written file or the process has a suitably privileged writable target. This issue is fixed in version 0.4.5.

From the GitHub advisory

Summary Anyquery's server mode does not disable or restrict native SQLite disk manipulation commands. Unauthenticated attackers connecting to the MySQL-compatible server port can use the ATTACH DATABASE command to write arbitrary SQLite databases to any path on the victim's filesystem where the process has write permissions. This leads to Arbitrary File Write (AFW) which could lead to Remote Code Execution (RCE) depending on the environment (e.g., by dropping a PHP web shell if a web server is running, or overwriting system cronjobs if running as root).

Details When Anyquery is launched in Server Mode (anyquery server), it blindly proxies incoming SQL commands to the underlying SQLite engine. SQLite allows dynamic database mounting via the ATTACH DATABASE command, which creates a physical .db file on the filesystem if the file does not exist.

An attacker can connect to the open Anyquery port, attach a new database to a sensitive path (e.g., /var/www/html/shell.php, /etc/cron.d/pwn or /root/.ssh/authorizedkeys), create a table, and insert a malicious payload. Although the file will contain a binary SQLite header, standard Linux services like cron, sshd, and web servers like PHP tolerate garbage data and will parse/execute the valid payload lines injected by the attacker.

PoC (Proof of Concept) 1. Start the server on the victim machine:

2. Connect from an attacker machine:

Weakness type: CWE-22, CWE-73, CWE-284, CWE-434, CWE-862.

Product: github.com/julien040/anyquery (Go) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-09-14

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none
• Scope: unchanged

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation poc, automatable yes, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.97% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 62.

Timeline

• 2026-07-14 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-xrcf-6jh3-ggvx published (critical)
• 2026-09-14 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
• 2026-09-15 — CVE record last updated

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-xrcf-6jh3-ggvx github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2026-50006 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2026-50006 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com
3. github.com github.com

Critical Go advisories · Today’s Security Digest