# CVE-2026-118485: Axel Download Accelerator Path Traversal via URL Filename Decoding


- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 28 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-118485, GHSA-gww9-3rx9-535x

## What is CVE-2026-118485?

CVE-2026-118485 is a high-severity vulnerability in Axel, published on 28 Oct 2026. 

### Official description

Axel Download Accelerator 2.17.14 and earlier performs URL percent-decoding (http_decode()) on the output filename after the URL has been parsed and the filename component extracted. This allows an attacker to embed %2e%2e%2f (URL-encoded ../) sequences in the URL path. These sequences survive the URL parser intact (they contain no literal / characters) but are decoded into directory traversal sequences before the output file is opened for writing. As a result, a crafted URL can cause axel to write downloaded content to arbitrary filesystem paths relative to the current working directory.

Weakness: CWE-24 (Path Traversal: '../filedir')

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-118485?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-118485?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-118485 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-118485 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-118485 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-118485 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-118485 is a high-severity vulnerability in Axel, published on 28 Oct 2026. 
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-118485 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Axel. 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-2026-118485/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-118485/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-118485
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-118485
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-118485

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-118485/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.