Code Injection in PowerShell Universal Variables Feature

Improper control of generation of code ('Code Injection') in the variables feature in Devolutions PowerShell Universal 2026.2.2 and earlier allows an authenticated user with variable write permission to execute arbitrary PowerShell code via a crafted variable value that is not properly escaped when written to the variables configuration file.

Casky was already ahead

This CVE exploits attack patterns that Casky's 322matched skills already investigate — long before this vulnerability was disclosed. Claude's reasoning model maps these techniques to MITRE ATT&CK, so practitioners who ran these skills have already seen the threat behaviour in their findings.

Analysis

Devolutions PowerShell Universal versions 2026.2.2 and earlier contain a code injection vulnerability in the variables feature that allows authenticated users with variable write permissions to execute arbitrary PowerShell code. The vulnerability stems from improper escaping of variable values when they are written to the configuration file, enabling attackers to break out of intended contexts and inject malicious PowerShell commands. This is particularly significant because PowerShell Universal is widely used for automation and administration across enterprise environments, meaning organizations leveraging this platform face potential compromise from insider threats or compromised accounts with variable management permissions. The high CVSS score of 8.8 reflects the severity of arbitrary code execution in a privileged automation context.

Casky's 322 matching security skills, powered by Claude AI's extended reasoning capabilities, detect the attack patterns underlying this vulnerability by mapping to MITRE ATT&CK techniques TA0001 (Initial Access) and TA0043 (Reconnaissance). Practitioners using Casky would identify suspicious patterns including: unauthorized variable modifications with PowerShell metacharacters or cmdlet syntax, configuration file changes containing escaped code sequences, and execution logs showing PowerShell commands originating from variable processing contexts. The platform's skill set enables detection of CWE-94 (Code Injection) signatures such as inadequate input validation, dangerous string concatenation in script generation, and runtime execution of unsanitized user-supplied data. Practitioners would observe findings highlighting variables containing command substitution syntax, variable values escaping their intended delimiters, and post-exploitation indicators where legitimate administrative automation executes unexpected commands derived from crafted variable payloads.

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Casky Risk Score

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EPSS Probability

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Shodan Exposure

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GreyNoise Signal

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Composite risk scoring from EPSS, CISA KEV, Shodan, and GreyNoise — 21 security APIs correlated into a single Casky Risk Score. Coming in Casky Pro. Join early access →

322 Casky skills cover this attack pattern

These skills use Claude AI's reasoning model to surface findings in the same attack categories as CVE-2026-16801.

Abuse of Public-Facing API: Mobile API Abuse

mobile security · low

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abusing-dpapi-for-credential-access

red teaming · high

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abusing-shadow-credentials-for-privesc

red teaming · high

Run

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

TA0001 TA0043

Investigate the attack patterns behind CVE-2026-16801

Casky has 322 skills that investigate the attack patterns behind CVE-2026-16801. Run one and get CVSS-scored findings in 3 minutes.

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