# CVE-2026-32709: PX4 Autopilot MAVLink FTP Unauthenticated Path Traversal (Arbitrary File Read/Write/Delete)

> Unauthenticated attackers can read, write, or delete arbitrary files on PX4 drone flight controllers via MAVLink FTP path traversal flaws.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Mar 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fh32-qxj9-x32f

## What is CVE-2026-32709?

CVE-2026-32709 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in PX4-Autopilot, published on 13 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

PX4 autopilot is a flight control solution for drones. Prior to 1.17.0-rc2, An unauthenticated path traversal vulnerability in the PX4 Autopilot MAVLink FTP implementation allows any MAVLink peer to read, write, create, delete, and rename arbitrary files on the flight controller filesystem without authentication. On NuttX targets, the FTP root directory is an empty string, meaning attacker-supplied paths are passed directly to filesystem syscalls with no prefix or sanitization for read operations. On POSIX targets (Linux companion computers, SITL), the write-path validation function unconditionally returns true, providing no protection. A TOCTOU race condition in the write validation on NuttX further allows bypassing the only existing guard. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.17.0-rc2.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-32709?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Dronecode Px4 Drone Autopilot.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-32709?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-32709 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-32709 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-32709 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in PX4-Autopilot

- [CVE-2026-26741](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-26741/): Business logic in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2026-26742](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-26742/): Security feature bypass in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2024-40427](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-40427/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.9)
- [CVE-2026-32708](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32708/): Zenoh uORB Subscriber Allows Arbitrary Stack Allocation (PX4/PX4-Autopilot) (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2024-38952](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38952/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-32709 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-32709 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in PX4-Autopilot, published on 13 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-32709 exists.

Affected product: PX4-Autopilot. 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-2026-32709/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32709/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-32709
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32709
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-32709

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32709/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.