CVE-2026-55488: Motioneye Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-rw9q-97r9-8gvh
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CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-55488 is a HIGH path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Motioneye libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves motioneye's absolute path traversal in media file handlers allows arbitrary file read. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.44.0.

CVE-2026-55488 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-55488
GHSA Identifier GHSA-rw9q-97r9-8gvh
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product Motioneye
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-55488

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

motioneye fixed: 0.44.0 
pip install motioneye>=0.44.0
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 motioneye

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2026-55488, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show motioneye

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Motioneye in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.44.0), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show motioneye 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 Motioneye, 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

### Summary mEye contains an absolute path traversal vulnerability in multiple media file handlers that allows an attacker to read arbitrary files from the filesystem. The affected handlers accept a user-controlled filename parameter and construct filesystem paths using `os.path.join()`. When an absolute path is supplied, Python discards the configured media directory and returns the attacker-supplied path directly. The application then bypasses Tornado's built-in path validation by overriding the relevant safety checks. As a result, an attacker can access files outside of the configured camera media directory, subject to the permissions of the motionEye process. ### Details The issue exists in the media playback and download functionality. The filename parameter is passed to `mediafiles.get_media_path()`: ```python def get_media_path(camera_config, path, media_type): target_dir = camera_config.get('target_dir') full_path = os.path.join(target_dir, path) return full_path ``` When path is an absolute path (e.g. `/etc/motioneye/motion.conf`), Python's `os.path.join()` discards `target_dir` entirely and returns the absolute path as-is. This would normally be caught by Tornado's StaticFileHandler path validation, but MoviePlaybackHandler explicitly overrides both safety checks (`movie_playback.py` lines 111-115): ``` def get_absolute_path(self, root, path): return path def validate_absolute_path(self, root, absolute_path): return absolute_path ``` This allows reading any file on the filesystem that the motionEye process can access. The same path traversal exists in the movie download, picture download, and picture preview handlers: - GET /movie/<camera_id>/download/<filename> - GET /picture/<camera_id>/download/<filename> - GET /picture/<camera_id>/preview/<filename> # PoC ``` GET /movie/1/playback//etc/motioneye/motion.conf HTTP/1.1 Host: target:8765 ``` # Fix Do not allow absolute paths supplied by user input. Validate that the fully resolved canonical path remains within the configured camera media directory before serving a file. Additionally, Tornado’s built-in path validation should not be bypassed unless equivalent validation is performed by motionEye.

CVE-2026-55488 Affected Motioneye Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.44.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
motioneye
pypi/motioneye
PyPI
< 0.44.0
0.44.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/motioneye-project/motioneye/security/advisories/GHSA-rw9q-97r9-8gvh
Motioneye Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/motioneye-project/motioneye

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-55488?
CVE-2026-55488 is a security vulnerability in Motioneye involving motionEye's Absolute Path Traversal in Media File Handlers Allows Arbitrary File Read under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Motioneye versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.44.0 across affected packages: motioneye.
What version fixes CVE-2026-55488?
Upgrading to 0.44.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is motioneye affected?
Yes, motioneye is affected in releases prior to 0.44.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.44.0 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-55488?
CVE-2026-55488 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-2026-55488?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show motioneye'. 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 
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  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-rw9q-97r9-8gvh",
  "modified" : "2026-06-23T18:32:46Z",
  "published" : "2026-06-23T18:32:46Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-55488" ],
  "summary" : "motionEye's Absolute Path Traversal in Media File Handlers Allows Arbitrary File Read",
  "details" : "### Summary\n\nmEye contains an absolute path traversal vulnerability in multiple media file handlers that allows an attacker to read arbitrary files from the filesystem.\n\nThe affected handlers accept a user-controlled filename parameter and construct filesystem paths using `os.path.join()`. When an absolute path is supplied, Python discards the configured media directory and returns the attacker-supplied path directly. The application then bypasses Tornado's built-in path validation by overriding the relevant safety checks.\n\nAs a result, an attacker can access files outside of the configured camera media directory, subject to the permissions of the motionEye process.\n\n### Details\n\nThe issue exists in the media playback and download functionality.\n\nThe filename parameter is passed to `mediafiles.get_media_path()`:\n\n```python\ndef get_media_path(camera_config, path, media_type):\n    target_dir = camera_config.get('target_dir')\n    full_path = os.path.join(target_dir, path)\n    return full_path\n```\n\nWhen path is an absolute path (e.g. `/etc/motioneye/motion.conf`), Python's `os.path.join()` discards `target_dir` entirely and returns the absolute path as-is. This would normally be caught by Tornado's StaticFileHandler path validation, but MoviePlaybackHandler explicitly overrides both safety checks (`movie_playback.py` lines 111-115):\n\n```\ndef get_absolute_path(self, root, path):\n    return path\n\ndef validate_absolute_path(self, root, absolute_path):\n    return absolute_path\n```\nThis allows reading any file on the filesystem that the motionEye process can access.\n\nThe same path traversal exists in the movie download, picture download, and picture preview handlers:\n\n- GET /movie/<camera_id>/download/<filename>\n- GET /picture/<camera_id>/download/<filename>\n- GET /picture/<camera_id>/preview/<filename>\n\n# PoC\n\n```\nGET /movie/1/playback//etc/motioneye/motion.conf HTTP/1.1\nHost: target:8765\n```\n\n# Fix\n\nDo not allow absolute paths supplied by user input.\n\nValidate that the fully resolved canonical path remains within the configured camera media directory before serving a file.\n\nAdditionally, Tornado’s built-in path validation should not be bypassed unless equivalent validation is performed by motionEye.",
  "severity" : [ ],
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        "fixed" : "0.44.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/motioneye-project/motioneye/security/advisories/GHSA-rw9q-97r9-8gvh"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/motioneye-project/motioneye"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-06-23T18:32:46Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}