Host file disclosure via absolute hardlink targets
Published Sep 27, 2026 · Updated Sep 27, 2026
Path traversal in Flatpak 1.17.0 through 1.18.0 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary host files via a malicious OCI registry. During OCI layer extraction, entry paths are rebased with g_build_filename, but absolute hardlink targets pass unchanged to libarchive's link() call. Exploitation requires control of an OCI registry and a user-initiated install or update; system-wide operations expose root-readable files.
Summary
What happened
Path traversal in Flatpak 1.17.0 through 1.18.0 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary host files via a malicious OCI registry. During OCI layer extraction, entry paths are rebased with g_build_filename, but absolute hardlink targets pass unchanged to libarchive's link() call. Exploitation requires control of an OCI registry and a user-initiated install or update; system-wide operations expose root-readable files.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-96279
- Published
- Sep 27, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 27, 2026
- Vendor
- Unknown vendor
- Product
- Unknown product
- Classifications
- T1005
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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What is affected?
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Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
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