# CVE-2026-34079: Flatpak affected by arbitrary file deletion on the host filesystem

> Flatpak apps can delete arbitrary files on the host filesystem due to improper path validation in cache removal, requiring an upgrade to fix.

- **Severity:** High 8.7 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 10 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** CLSA-2026-1776949031, CLSA-2026-1777542671, CLSA-2026-1777890711, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-34079, GHSA-p29x-r292-46pp, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-34079

## What is CVE-2026-34079?

CVE-2026-34079 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in flatpak, published on 7 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Flatpak is a Linux application sandboxing and distribution framework. Prior to 1.16.4, the caching for ld.so removes outdated cache files without properly checking that the app controlled path to the outdated cache is in the cache directory. This allows Flatpak apps  to delete arbitrary files on the host. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.16.4.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-34079?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Flatpak Flatpak.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-34079?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-34079 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-34079 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in flatpak

- [CVE-2023-28100](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-28100/): TIOCLINUX can send commands outside sandbox if running on a virtual console (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-34078](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-34078/): Flatpak has a complete sandbox escape leading to host file access and code execution in the host context (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2019-10063](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-10063/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2018-6560](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6560/): Security feature bypass in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-28101](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-28101/): Flatpak metadata with ANSI control codes can cause misleading terminal output (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-34079 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-34079 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in flatpak, published on 7 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-34079 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: flatpak. 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-2026-34079/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-34079/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-34079
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-34079
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-34079

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-34079/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.