Checkmarx ast-cli auto-update skips checksum check before execution
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- Passive
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
Checkmarx ast-cli through 2.3.59 (github.com/checkmarx/ast-cli) downloads its ASCA and SCA Resolver helper archives without a checksum check before extracting and executing them (CWE-353). An attacker who compromises download.checkmarx.com and replaces the served archive can run a binary of their choice on developer machines or CI pipelines that use the VSCode or JetBrains extensions or cx scan sca-realtime.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-02
Description from the CNA
ast-cli downloads two helper binaries, the Vorpal ASCA real-time engine and the SCA Resolver, from "download.checkmarx.com" as part of its auto-update flow, triggered by the Checkmarx’s "VSCode/JetBrains" extensions and by cx scan "sca-realtime". Prior to the fix, the downloaded archive was not verified against a checksum before extraction and execution. An attacker able to substitute the served archive could deliver an arbitrary binary that ast-cli would extract and execute the contents of the archive, since no integrity check was performed on the download. Successful exploitation requires compromising "download.checkmarx.com" and replacing the served archive with one containing an attacker-controlled binary. If the served archive had been replaced that way, any developer machine or CI pipeline invoking ASCA (via Checkmarx's VSCode/JetBrains extensions) or cx scan "sca-realtime" on an affected version would have extracted and executed that binary in place of the intended download. The download is now verified against a published SHA-256 checksum before extraction.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
Upgrade Checkmarx ast-cli to 2.3.60, which verifies the download against a published SHA-256 checksum before extraction.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-02
- Fix · CNA github.com/checkmarx/ast-cli (Checkmarx) Fixed in 2.3.60
Timeline
- 2026-10-22 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-77157
- 2026-10-23 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-11-02 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
More Checkmarx vulnerabilities
- TI-2014-07204 Checkmarx CxSAST (formerly CxSuite) before 7.1.8 allows remote authenticated users to… CVSS 2.0HIGH 9.0
- TI-2026-79336 Path traversal in Checkmarx ast-cli tar extraction on Linux and macOS CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.3
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences