# CVE-2026-44885: Portainer: Path traversal in backup archive extraction allows arbitrary file write

> Attackers can write arbitrary files via crafted backup archives, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation on Portainer servers.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 28 May 2026
- **Updated:** 29 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m8fg-67j7-cx4v, GO-2026-5498

## What is CVE-2026-44885?

CVE-2026-44885 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in portainer, published on 28 May 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Portainer Community Edition is a lightweight service delivery platform for containerized applications that can be used to manage Docker, Swarm, Kubernetes and ACI environments. From 2.33.0 to before 2.33.8, Portainer's backup restore feature accepts a .tar.gz archive and extracts it to a target directory on the server. The extraction function (ExtractTarGz in api/archive/targz.go) constructed output paths using filepath.Clean(filepath.Join(outputDirPath, header.Name)). This combination does not prevent directory traversal — a tar entry named ../../etc/cron.d/evil resolves to a path outside the extraction root, so a crafted archive can write files to arbitrary locations on the server filesystem. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.33.8.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44885?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/portainer/portainer. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/portainer/portainer` | Go | All versions | None |
| `github.com/portainer/portainer` | Go | From 2.33.0 | 2.33.8 |
| `github.com/portainer/portainer` | Go | From 2.33.0 | 2.33.8 |

Products: Portainer Portainer.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-44885?

Upgrade github.com/portainer/portainer to 2.33.8 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-44885 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-44885 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in portainer

- [CVE-2019-16872](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16872/): Missing authorization in n/a (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2022-24961](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-24961/): Missing authorization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-24264](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-24264/): Missing authorization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2018-19466](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-19466/): Information disclosure in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2018-19367](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-19367/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-44885 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-44885 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in portainer, published on 28 May 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-44885 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/portainer/portainer (Go): affected all versions; no fix listed
- github.com/portainer/portainer (Go): affected from 2.33.0; fixed in 2.33.8
- github.com/portainer/portainer (Go): affected from 2.33.0; fixed in 2.33.8

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-2026-44885/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44885/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44885
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44885
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-44885

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44885/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.