CVE-2026-27976 Zed Extension Sandbox Escape via Tar Symlink Following

High 8.8 Published 25 Feb 2026 Updated 27 Feb 2026

Attackers can escape the extension sandbox and execute arbitrary code on the host by exploiting symlink handling in the tar extractor.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: A user has to click or open something
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2026-27976?

CVE-2026-27976 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in zed-industries zed, published on 25 Feb 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

Official description

Zed, a code editor, has an extension installer allows tar/gzip downloads. Prior to version 0.224.4, the tar extractor (`async_tar::Archive::unpack`) creates symlinks from the archive without validation, and the path guard (`writeable_path_from_extension`) only performs lexical prefix checks without resolving symlinks. An attacker can ship a tar that first creates a symlink inside the extension workdir pointing outside (e.g., `escape -> /`), then writes files through the symlink, causing writes to arbitrary host paths. This escapes the extension sandbox and enables code execution. Version 0.224.4 patches the issue.

Weakness: CWE-61

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-27976?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Zed Zed.

How do I fix CVE-2026-27976?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-27976 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2026-27976 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-27976 exists.

Sources

Also known as GHSA-59p4-3mhm-qm3r.