Critical · CVSS 9.1CVE-2026-85714

Stirling-PDF: Remote Code Execution via H2CVE-2026-85714

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-85714 records a Critical severity (CVSS 9.1) vulnerability in Stirling-PDF: Remote Code Execution via H2. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Oct 14, 2026Updated Oct 14, 2026Source checked Oct 14, 2026First seen by HOL Oct 14, 2026Material review Oct 14, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: Critical · CVSS 9.1
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 1 mapped package or product
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

CVSS is 9.1. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDFgeneric	<2.13.2	2.13.2

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF.
Review the reported fix. Update Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF to 2.13.2 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Oct 14, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Oct 14, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Oct 14, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

Stirling-PDF is a locally hosted web application that facilitates various operations on PDF files. Prior to 2.13.2, an authenticated administrator using the default H2 database and security mode can upload a crafted SQL file to POST /api/v1/database/import-database. DatabaseService.validateSqlContent() splits normalized input on semicolons and accepts a statement when it contains any allowed keyword, allowing dangerous H2 functions such as FILE_READ and CSVWRITE, plus CREATE ALIAS, to bypass the insufficient whitelist and execute side effects when RUNSCRIPT processes the file. This permits arbitrary file access. The demonstrated operating-system command execution chain writes attacker-controlled startup files to a user-site location and then triggers an application Python interpreter configured to load those startup files, resulting in command execution as the JVM service account. This issue is fixed in version 2.13.2.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.