Flatpak Export/bin Path Traversal Enables File Deletion
CVE-2026-97023 Published on September 28, 2026
Flatpak: flatpak: arbitrary file deletion in root context via path traversal in deploy directory export/bin
A path traversal vulnerability in Flatpak's handling of the export/bin directory during app deployment allows a malicious Flatpak app to cause deletion of attacker-chosen files outside the deployment directory when the app is installed or upgraded. In system-wide installations, the deletion is performed as root.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-97023 can be exploited with network access, requires user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality, with no impact on integrity, and a high impact on availability.
Timeline
Reported to Red Hat.
Made public. 7 days later.
Weakness Type
What is a Symlink following Vulnerability?
The software, when opening a file or directory, does not sufficiently account for when the file is a symbolic link that resolves to a target outside of the intended control sphere. This could allow an attacker to cause the software to operate on unauthorized files. A software system that allows UNIX symbolic links (symlink) as part of paths whether in internal code or through user input can allow an attacker to spoof the symbolic link and traverse the file system to unintended locations or access arbitrary files. The symbolic link can permit an attacker to read/write/corrupt a file that they originally did not have permissions to access.
CVE-2026-97023 has been classified to as a Symlink following vulnerability or weakness.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-97023
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