# CVE-2026-12701: Pulpcore: pulpcore: relative_path_validator bypass via directory traversal in filesystemexport

> An authenticated administrator can exploit a path traversal flaw in Pulpcore's filesystem export to write arbitrary files, potentially compromising the service.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 8 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j5cg-p988-g42q

## What is CVE-2026-12701?

CVE-2026-12701 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2, published on 20 Jul 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A path traversal vulnerability was found in pulpcore. The relative_path_validator function only verifies that content paths do not begin with "/" but fails to block directory traversal sequences such as "../" anywhere in the path. An authenticated administrator can craft a relative_path containing embedded traversal sequences (e.g., "looking/normal/../../../../etc/shadow") that escapes the intended export directory during FilesystemExport operations. Because the file content is also user-controlled (uploaded artifact), this allows arbitrary file write to any location writable by the Pulp service user, potentially leading to service compromise or further system exploitation.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-12701?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-12701?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-12701 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-12701 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-12701 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-12701 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2, published on 20 Jul 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-12701 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2. 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-2026-12701/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-12701/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-12701
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12701
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-12701

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-12701/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.