Path Traversal in Xyproto Algernon

CVE-2026-48126

Algernon is a small self-contained pure-Go web server. Prior to 1.17.8, when algernon is started with --domain (or --letsencrypt, which silently turns on --domain at engine/flags.go:372), the request handler resolves the served directory by joining the configured --dir with the value of the client-supplied Host header. The join is performed by filepath.Join with no validation, so a Host: .. header walks one level above the document root. Subsequent file resolution then exposes everything in that parent directory — arbitrary file read, full directory listing, and, if any .lua file is present, server-side Lua execution. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.17.8.

Vulnerability class: Path Traversal (Directory Traversal)

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.2 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.005 (41.7th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 42nd percentile — 41.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-48126: held from 0.003 to 0.005.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.005 · change: +0.002

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-48126?
CVE-2026-48126 is a high-severity vulnerability in Xyproto Algernon, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 8.2/10. Published 2026-05-26.
How severe is CVE-2026-48126?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.2 out of 10.