CVE-2026-59944Public exploitHinoki check available

File exposure via escaping dependency binary paths

Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Sep 16, 2026

Path traversal in Composer's binary installer allows attackers to expose external files via malicious dependency binaries. BinaryInstaller and FileDownloader follow escaping binary symlinks or paths from vendor/composer/installed.json without checking resolved-path containment, changing target permissions and registering vendor/bin proxies. Exploitation requires processing a malicious dependency and a target modifiable by the Composer process; the metadata route additionally requires a reused or lower-trust vendor directory, and the flaw neither directly transmits data nor independently provides remote code execution.

CVSS severity6.1
Medium
EPSS probability0.32%
Next 30 days · Oct 18, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkAvailable
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Get started

Summary

What happened

Path traversal in Composer's binary installer allows attackers to expose external files via malicious dependency binaries. BinaryInstaller and FileDownloader follow escaping binary symlinks or paths from vendor/composer/installed.json without checking resolved-path containment, changing target permissions and registering vendor/bin proxies. Exploitation requires processing a malicious dependency and a target modifiable by the Composer process; the metadata route additionally requires a reused or lower-trust vendor directory, and the flaw neither directly transmits data nor independently provides remote code execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-59944
Published
Sep 16, 2026
Updated
Sep 16, 2026
Vendor
Composer
Product
Composer
Classifications
CWE-22, CWE-59, CWE-732, T1195.001, T1222.002
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 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=>= 1.0.0, < 2.2.30
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 2.3.0, < 2.10.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Composer · Composerversion=>= 1.0.0, < 2.2.30; version=>= 2.3.0, < 2.10.3

Published CVSS scores

6.1Composer GitHub Security AdvisoryCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
6.1Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/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.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

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

No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
CWE-732Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
T1195.001Compromise Software Dependencies and Development Tools
T1222.002Linux and Mac Permissions

Public exploit references

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

Get started to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Get started