# CVE-2026-0394: Path traversal in OX Dovecot Pro

> Path traversal in Dovecot allows reading /etc/passwd when using per-domain files in specific locations, potentially enabling unauthorized authentication.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 27 Mar 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-81695, CLSA-2026-1787230282, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-0394, GHSA-xmp7-q4wc-cq3x, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-0394, USN-8136-2

## What is CVE-2026-0394?

CVE-2026-0394 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Dovecot Dovecot, published on 27 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

When dovecot has been configured to use per-domain passwd files, and they are placed one path component above /etc, or slash has been added to allowed characters, path traversal can happen if the domain component is directory partial. This allows inadvertently reading /etc/passwd (or some other path which ends with passwd). If this file contains passwords, it can be used to authenticate wrongly, or if this is userdb, it can unexpectly make system users appear valid users.  Upgrade to fixed version, or use different authentication scheme that does not rely on paths. Alternatively you can also ensure that the per-domain passwd files are in some other location, such as /etc/dovecot/auth/%d. No publicly available exploits are known.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-0394?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Dovecot Dovecot, Open-Xchange Dovecot.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-0394?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-0394 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-0394 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Dovecot Dovecot

- [CVE-2026-24031](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24031/): Auth bypass in OX Dovecot Pro (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2025-59032](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-59032/): Denial of service in OX Dovecot Pro (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2026-27858](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-27858/): Denial of service in OX Dovecot Pro (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2021-29157](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-29157/): Path traversal in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2020-10957](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10957/): Null dereference in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-0394 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-0394 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Dovecot Dovecot, published on 27 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-0394 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Dovecot Dovecot. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-0394/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-0394/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-0394
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-0394
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-0394

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-0394/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.