NASA ground software flaw exposes spacecraft commands

A critical authentication flaw in NASA’s open-source ground-control software could allow network attackers to obtain a valid session and transmit arbitrary spacecraft or instrument commands without supplying credentials. The vulnerability affects versions of the AMMOS Instrument Toolkit GUI released before version 2.5.1 and has been assigned CVE-2026-60112.

The weakness carries a CVSS 4.0 severity score of 9.3 out of 10 and a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8, placing it firmly in the critical category. Exploitation requires no prior privileges, user interaction or unusual system conditions, while attack complexity is considered low. Systems running the vulnerable software are exposed when the relevant service is reachable over a network.

AIT-GUI provides a web-based interface for real-time telemetry monitoring, commanding and other mission-operations functions. It sits above the AIT Core libraries and gives operators access to telemetry, command handling, event reporting, system logging and associated ground-system functions through user-interface components and a REST API. That combination gives the software an important position within ground operations where it is deployed.

The vulnerability stems from missing authentication around session creation. An attacker able to reach a vulnerable installation can invoke the software’s session-creation function without a credential check. After obtaining the session, the attacker can reach the command-handling mechanism and forward commands to the AIT command bus without encountering an authentication barrier between creation of the session and dispatch of the command.

The issue is classified as CWE-306, or Missing Authentication for Critical Function. Security assessments indicate that successful exploitation could have a high impact on confidentiality, integrity and availability. The severity reflects what the affected software is capable of doing rather than evidence that operational spacecraft have been compromised. No publicly documented exploitation was identified in the vulnerability record, and the available information does not establish that any NASA mission was breached through the flaw.

NASA’s AMMOS Instrument Toolkit is a Python-based suite intended to provide basic capabilities for instrument uplink, downlink and sequencing. The toolkit grew from ground-system software developed for spacecraft and instrument missions and is available as open-source software, allowing mission teams and other users to adapt components to their own operational environments.

Version 2.5.1 contains the relevant code changes. Project records show that the release introduced restrictions on script execution paths and eliminated the use of static temporary files. The vulnerability database identifies versions below 2.5.1 as affected and lists the corresponding code change and release as remediation references.

The discovery also comes amid wider scrutiny of authentication boundaries in open-source software associated with NASA’s Advanced Multi-Mission Operations System environment. Another flaw disclosed this year in the AIT Deep Space Network interface affected versions before 2.2.2 and exposed multiple Space Link Extension API routes to unauthenticated network requests. That weakness could permit interference with communications sessions, access to telemetry frames and injection of frames into active links.

A separate critical vulnerability disclosed in August affects the NASA-AMMOS Asynchronous Network Management System reference implementation. Its default container configuration can expose a management REST API directly to the host network while bypassing an authentication gateway. The affected implementation can communicate with simulated or real spacecraft and ground nodes depending on deployment, although it is ground-system reference software rather than onboard flight software.

The pattern highlights a broader security challenge facing mission-support software as ground systems become increasingly modular, web-enabled and connected through standard network interfaces. Interfaces designed to make telemetry and command functions easier to integrate can also enlarge the attack surface when authentication controls are incomplete or deployment configurations expose services beyond trusted networks.

Operators running AIT-GUI versions older than 2.5.1 face the clearest immediate remediation requirement. Updating the software removes the version range identified as vulnerable, while installations should also be reviewed to determine whether command and telemetry interfaces are reachable from untrusted networks. Network segmentation, restrictive access controls and monitoring of ground-system APIs can reduce exposure where immediate software replacement is difficult.