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Low · 2.1 CVE-2026-78691 EEF-CVE-2026-78691EUVD-2026-68188GHSA-5jgp-7mhc-6qqh

Unescaped backslash allows LIKE wildcard injection in AshSql string search

Published Aug 30, 2026 · Updated Aug 31, 2026 · Assigned by EEF

Description

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Data Query Logic vulnerability in ash-project ash_sql allows a user who supplies a search term to contains/2, string_starts_with/2, or string_ends_with/2 to inject live SQL LIKE wildcards, turning a literal substring search into an attacker-controlled pattern match.

The escape helpers in AshSql.Expr prefix % and _ with a backslash but never escape a backslash already present in the input. Because backslash is the default LIKE escape character, the escaping defeats itself: the input \% becomes the pattern fragment \\%, where \\ is a literal backslash and the attacker's % remains a live wildcard. The search value stays parameterized, so this is confined to the LIKE pattern grammar rather than full SQL. An attacker can widen matches to probe values, slip past a negated contains(...) guard, or crash the query with a trailing lone backslash.

This issue affects ash_sql: from 0.1.1-rc.10 before 0.7.1.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
ash-project ash_sql 0.1.1-rc.10 – < 0.7.1 0.7.1

Affected packages

EcosystemPackageAffectedFixedRecord
Hex ash_sql >= 0.1.1-rc.10, < 0.7.1 0.7.1 EEF-CVE-2026-78691

References