CVE-2026-80430: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-phg7-mgrc-j9pj
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CWE-59
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-80430 is a MODERATE security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-80430 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-80430
GHSA Identifier GHSA-phg7-mgrc-j9pj
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-80430

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

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-80430, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

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

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following'), where the product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource. In Software, 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

Improper Link Resolution Before File Access in the drag source staging path of the drag and drop protocol in kitty from 0.47.0 before 0.49.0 allows a program writing to the terminal to create files and directories at paths outside the staging directory, because subdir_data_for_drag() in kitty/dnd.c resolves a descendant of the staged item tree by constructing a path string and opening it with safe_open(path, O_DIRECTORY | O_RDONLY, 0) rather than by walking the tree one component at a time, so a client that declares two entries with the same name, the first a symlink whose target is an arbitrary absolute path and the second a directory, causes mkdirat() to fail with EEXIST, which the code ignores, and causes the subsequent path resolution to follow the symlink and return a directory descriptor outside the staging directory, which is then passed as the dirfd argument to add_payload() and used for every further create operation on that item and its descendants. Entry names are sanitised against path separators and dot components, but symlink targets are not validated. Files are created with O_CREAT | O_WRONLY | O_EXCL at mode 0644, so existing files cannot be overwritten, and directories are created with mkdirat() at mode 0755, so the attacker can create intermediate directories that did not previously exist. This results in the creation of files and directories at any path writable by the user running kitty, provided the symlink target is an existing directory.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-80430 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80430
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/commit/3c3133d3399257492347f535d8d191680803b25d
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/commit/554908ed0b4d010cf9821c75449c7f7c79a6170a
Software Release RELEASE
https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/releases/tag/v0.49.0
secur0.com/en/cna/cve-list/cve... WEB
https://secur0.com/en/cna/cve-list/cve-2026-80430-kitty-dnd-symlink-traversal

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-80430?
CVE-2026-80430 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following').
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-80430?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-80430?
CVE-2026-80430 is classified under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') (The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-80430?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. 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-phg7-mgrc-j9pj",
  "modified" : "2026-09-25T15:31:47Z",
  "published" : "2026-09-25T15:31:47Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-80430" ],
  "details" : "Improper Link Resolution Before File Access in the drag source staging path of the drag and drop protocol in kitty from 0.47.0 before 0.49.0 allows a program writing to the terminal to create files and directories at paths outside the staging directory, because subdir_data_for_drag() in kitty/dnd.c resolves a descendant of the staged item tree by constructing a path string and opening it with safe_open(path, O_DIRECTORY | O_RDONLY, 0) rather than by walking the tree one component at a time, so a client that declares two entries with the same name, the first a symlink whose target is an arbitrary absolute path and the second a directory, causes mkdirat() to fail with EEXIST, which the code ignores, and causes the subsequent path resolution to follow the symlink and return a directory descriptor outside the staging directory, which is then passed as the dirfd argument to add_payload() and used for every further create operation on that item and its descendants. Entry names are sanitised against path separators and dot components, but symlink targets are not validated. Files are created with O_CREAT | O_WRONLY | O_EXCL at mode 0644, so existing files cannot be overwritten, and directories are created with mkdirat() at mode 0755, so the attacker can create intermediate directories that did not previously exist. This results in the creation of files and directories at any path writable by the user running kitty, provided the symlink target is an existing directory.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80430"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/commit/3c3133d3399257492347f535d8d191680803b25d"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/commit/554908ed0b4d010cf9821c75449c7f7c79a6170a"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/releases/tag/v0.49.0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://secur0.com/en/cna/cve-list/cve-2026-80430-kitty-dnd-symlink-traversal"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-59" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-09-25T14:17:19Z"
  }
}