CVE-2026-32981: Ray Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-j3mh-qmjj-xp83
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-32981 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Ray libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves ray dashboard is vulnerable to path traversal through its static file handling mechanism. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.8.1.

CVE-2026-32981 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-32981
GHSA Identifier GHSA-j3mh-qmjj-xp83
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product Ray
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2026-32981

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Ray dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

ray fixed: 2.8.1 
pip install ray>=2.8.1
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show ray

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2026-32981, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show ray

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ray in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.8.1), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show ray command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'), where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. In Ray, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

A path traversal vulnerability was identified in Ray Dashboard (default port 8265) in Ray versions prior to 2.8.1. Due to improper validation and sanitization of user-supplied paths in the static file handling mechanism, an attacker can use traversal sequences (e.g., ../) to access files outside the intended static directory, resulting in local file disclosure.

CVE-2026-32981 Affected Ray Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.8.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ray
pypi/ray
PyPI
< 2.8.1
2.8.1

References

NVD — CVE-2026-32981 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32981
Ray Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ray/PYSEC-2026-130.yaml
Ray Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ray-project/ray
packetstorm.news/files/id/215801 WEB
https://packetstorm.news/files/id/215801
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/ray-dash... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/ray-dashboard-path-traversal-leading-to-local-file-disclosure

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-32981?
CVE-2026-32981 is a security vulnerability in Ray involving Ray Dashboard is vulnerable to path traversal through its static file handling mechanism under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Ray versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.8.1 across affected packages: ray.
What version fixes CVE-2026-32981?
Upgrading to 2.8.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ray affected?
Yes, ray is affected in releases prior to 2.8.1. Upgrade your dependency to 2.8.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-32981?
CVE-2026-32981 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-32981?
CVE-2026-32981 is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2026-32981?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show ray'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-j3mh-qmjj-xp83",
  "modified" : "2026-06-09T18:36:19Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-17T21:31:45Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-32981" ],
  "summary" : "Ray Dashboard is vulnerable to path traversal through its static file handling mechanism",
  "details" : "A path traversal vulnerability was identified in Ray Dashboard (default port 8265) in Ray versions prior to 2.8.1. Due to improper validation and sanitization of user-supplied paths in the static file handling mechanism, an attacker can use traversal sequences (e.g., ../) to access files outside the intended static directory, resulting in local file disclosure.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "ray"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.8.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32981"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ray/PYSEC-2026-130.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ray-project/ray"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://packetstorm.news/files/id/215801"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/ray-dashboard-path-traversal-leading-to-local-file-disclosure"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-06-09T18:36:19Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-03-17T20:16:14Z"
  }
}