CVE-2026-42574Network attack vector

Host file overwrite via symlink-following archive extraction

Published May 9, 2026 · Updated May 9, 2026

Path traversal in Chainguard apko 0.14.8 through 1.2.4 allows remote attackers to write host files via a crafted APK archive. The sanitizePath helper in pkg/apk/fs/rwosfs.go rejects lexical traversal but neither resolves nor refuses symlinks before DirFS passes paths to filesystem calls. Exploitation requires a malicious symlink followed by a directory or file entry and affects disk-backed consumers such as build-cpio; the in-memory paths used by build, publish, and build-minirootfs are unaffected.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.35%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Path traversal in Chainguard apko 0.14.8 through 1.2.4 allows remote attackers to write host files via a crafted APK archive. The sanitizePath helper in pkg/apk/fs/rwosfs.go rejects lexical traversal but neither resolves nor refuses symlinks before DirFS passes paths to filesystem calls. Exploitation requires a malicious symlink followed by a directory or file entry and affects disk-backed consumers such as build-cpio; the in-memory paths used by build, publish, and build-minirootfs are unaffected.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-42574
Published
May 9, 2026
Updated
May 9, 2026
Vendor
Chainguard
Product
apko
Classifications
CWE-22, CWE-59
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 9, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 9, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=>= 0.14.8, < 1.2.5

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Chainguard · apkoversion=>= 0.14.8, < 1.2.5

Published CVSS scores

7.5GitHubCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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