CVE-2026-40611Public exploitNetwork attack vector

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.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability0.34%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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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

  1. Apr 21, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 21, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 4.34.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

go-acme · Legoversion=< 4.34.0

Published CVSS scores

8.8GitHubCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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