CVE-2026-50548 Cursor Desktop sandbox escape via agent-controlled working directory
A malicious AI agent can escape the sandbox by manipulating the working directory to write files outside the workspace, enabling remote code execution.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-50548?
CVE-2026-50548 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in cursor, published on 25 Jun 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Cursor is a code editor built for programming with AI. Prior to 3.0, Cursor runs agent terminal commands in a sandbox by default, and the sandbox grants write access to the command's working directory. A flaw was identified in how the agent could modify the working_directory parameter, which could cause the sandbox to include writable paths outside the intended workspace. A malicious agent could set working_directory to a sensitive location and write arbitrary files outside the workspace under the user's privileges. This enables non-sandboxed Remote Code Execution — for example by overwriting the cursorsandbox helper so later commands run unsandboxed — with no user interaction beyond a benign prompt. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.0.
Weakness: CWE-22
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-50548?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Anysphere Cursor.
How do I fix CVE-2026-50548?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-50548 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-2026-50548 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-50548 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in cursor
- CVE-2026-50549 Cursor Desktop sandbox escape via symlink and failed path canonicalization
- CVE-2025-64106 Cursor: Speedbump Modal Bypass in MCP Server Deep-Link
- CVE-2025-64107 Cursor is Vulnerable to Path Manipulation Using Backslashes on Windows
- CVE-2025-64108 Cursor's Sensitive File Modification can Lead to NTFS Path Quirks
- CVE-2025-61591 Cursor CLI's Cursor Agent MCP OAuth2 Communication is Vulnerable to Remote Code Execution