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

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

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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 available:** No
- **Published:** 25 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 27 Feb 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-59p4-3mhm-qm3r

## 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 (UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-27976?

It affects 1 product.


Products: 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.

## Is CVE-2026-27976 being exploited?

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

## Other vulnerabilities in zed-industries zed

- [CVE-2026-44461](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44461/): Zed: Remote Command Injection via Unquoted Environment Variable Keys (SSH / WSL Remote) (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2026-44463](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44463/): Zed: Allowlist Bypass via Environment Variable Injection in Terminal Tool Permissions (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2026-44465](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44465/): Zed: Zed IDE Arbitrary Code Execution via untrusted repository with poisoned .git/config (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2026-44466](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44466/): Zed: Allowlist Bypass via Bash Arithmetic Expansion in Terminal Tool Permissions (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2025-68432](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-68432/): Zed IDE LSP Binary Configuration Arbitrary Code Execution (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-27976 and fix it if it is affected.

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

Affected product: zed-industries zed. 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-2026-27976/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-27976/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-27976
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-27976
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-27976

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-27976/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.