Arbitrary file write and deletion via traversal
Published Apr 21, 2026 · Updated Apr 21, 2026
Path traversal in go-acme Lego before 4.34.0 allows remote attackers controlling an ACME server to write or delete local files. ChallengePath concatenates an unvalidated ACME token, after which the webroot provider passes the result through filepath.Join and uses it in WriteFile and Remove operations outside the configured webroot. Exploitation requires the HTTP-01 webroot solver to contact a malicious or compromised ACME server; writable startup or service paths can turn the file write into code execution, while CleanUp can delete files.
Summary
What happened
Path traversal in go-acme Lego before 4.34.0 allows remote attackers controlling an ACME server to write or delete local files. ChallengePath concatenates an unvalidated ACME token, after which the webroot provider passes the result through filepath.Join and uses it in WriteFile and Remove operations outside the configured webroot. Exploitation requires the HTTP-01 webroot solver to contact a malicious or compromised ACME server; writable startup or service paths can turn the file write into code execution, while CleanUp can delete files.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-40611
- Published
- Apr 21, 2026
- Updated
- Apr 21, 2026
- Vendor
- go-acme
- Product
- Lego
- Classifications
- CWE-22
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 21, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 21, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 4.34.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Upstream minimal Go proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo