# CVE-2026-26064: calibre: Path Traversal Vulnerability Enables Arbitrary File Write and Remote Code Execution

> Attackers can exploit path traversal in calibre to write arbitrary files, enabling remote code execution on Windows via startup folder injection.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 20 Feb 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-26064, GHSA-72ch-3hqc-pgmp, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-26064

## What is CVE-2026-26064?

CVE-2026-26064 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in kovidgoyal calibre, published on 20 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

calibre is a cross-platform e-book manager for viewing, converting, editing, and cataloging e-books. Versions 9.2.1 and below contain a Path Traversal vulnerability that allows arbitrary file writes anywhere the user has write permissions. On Windows, this leads to Remote Code Execution by writing a payload to the Startup folder, which executes on next login. Function extract_pictures only checks startswith('Pictures'), and does not sanitize '..' sequences. calibre's own ZipFile.extractall() in utils/zipfile.py does sanitize '..' via _get_targetpath(), but extract_pictures() bypasses this by using manual zf.read() + open(). This issue has been fixed in version 9.3.0.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-26064?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Calibre-Ebook Calibre.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-26064?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-26064 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-26064 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in kovidgoyal calibre

- [CVE-2011-4124](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-4124/): Command injection in Calibre (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2011-4125](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-4125/): Privilege escalation in Calibre (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-26065](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-26065/): calibre: Path Traversal can Lead to Arbitrary File Write and Potential Code Execution (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2026-25635](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-25635/): calibre has a Path Traversal Leading to Arbitrary File Write and Potential Code Execution (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2026-33206](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33206/): calibre has a path traversal vulnerability (high 8.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-26064 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-26064 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in kovidgoyal calibre, published on 20 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-26064 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: kovidgoyal calibre. 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-2026-26064/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-26064/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-26064
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-26064
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-26064

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-26064/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.