CVE-2026-78254: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-vjp4-m83c-mp26
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CVSS 7.4
CWE-23
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-78254 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.4) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize sequences such as ".." that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-78254 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-78254
GHSA Identifier GHSA-vjp4-m83c-mp26
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.4
CWE Classification CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.4

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2026-78254

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-2026-78254, 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-23: Relative Path Traversal, where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize sequences such as ".." that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory. 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

The ftp and scp tasks of Apache Ant can download files from a remote server. A malicious server can provide relative paths that allow it to write outside of the dedicated target directory for the download, making it possible to overwrite files of the attacker's choice using the permissions of the user running Ant in versions prior to Ant 1.10.18. In order to exploit this vulnerability, the server would either have to be malicious or be subject to a machine-in-the-middle attack. Additionally in the case of scp or the ftp task using ftps the server must pass the server identity checks performed by the tasks. For ftp tasks not using ftps a malicious server could act as a machine-in-the-middle to provide malicious files. Starting with Ant 1.10.18 both tasks will prevent writing outside of the destination directory by default. An option is available to disable this behavior in the unlikely case that the old behavior is required by existing build files. Mitigations: Users of scp and ftp (when using ftps) in any version of Ant should not bypass server identity checks. Users of ftp not using ftps should switch to ftps where possible. All users are recommended to upgrade to Apache Ant 1.10.18, which fixes this issue.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-78254 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-78254
lists.apache.org/thread/05s46qrlbhd0... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread/05s46qrlbhd06c6rsgvxh8zo0l4p9scz
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/06/2

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-78254?
CVE-2026-78254 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-78254?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-78254?
CVE-2026-78254 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.4 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-78254?
CVE-2026-78254 is classified under CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize sequences such as ".." that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-78254?
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-vjp4-m83c-mp26",
  "modified" : "2026-09-08T18:31:45Z",
  "published" : "2026-09-07T09:31:39Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-78254" ],
  "details" : "The ftp and scp tasks of Apache Ant can download files from a remote server. A malicious server can provide relative paths that allow it to write outside of the dedicated target directory for the download, making it possible to overwrite files of the attacker's choice using the permissions of the user running Ant in versions prior to Ant 1.10.18. \n\n\n\n\nIn order to exploit this vulnerability, the server would either have to be malicious or be subject to a machine-in-the-middle attack. Additionally in the case of scp or the ftp task using ftps the server must pass the server identity checks performed by the tasks.\n\n\n\n\nFor ftp tasks not using ftps a malicious server could act as a machine-in-the-middle to provide malicious files.\n\n\n\n\nStarting with Ant 1.10.18 both tasks will prevent writing outside of the destination directory by default. An option is available to disable this behavior in the unlikely case that the  old behavior is required by existing build files.\n\n\n\n\nMitigations:\n\n\n\n\nUsers of scp and ftp (when using ftps) in any version of Ant should not bypass server identity checks. Users of ftp not using ftps should switch to ftps where possible.\n\n\n\n\nAll users are recommended to upgrade to Apache Ant 1.10.18, which fixes this issue.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-78254"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread/05s46qrlbhd06c6rsgvxh8zo0l4p9scz"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/06/2"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-23" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-09-07T08:17:12Z"
  }
}