# 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.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/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:** No
- **Published:** 25 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 25 Jun 2026

## 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 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-50548?

It affects 1 product.


Products: 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.

## 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](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-50549/): Cursor Desktop sandbox escape via symlink and failed path canonicalization (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2025-64106](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-64106/): Cursor: Speedbump Modal Bypass in MCP Server Deep-Link (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2025-64107](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-64107/): Cursor is Vulnerable to Path Manipulation Using Backslashes on Windows (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2025-64108](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-64108/): Cursor's Sensitive File Modification can Lead to NTFS Path Quirks (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2025-61591](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-61591/): Cursor CLI's Cursor Agent MCP OAuth2 Communication is Vulnerable to Remote Code Execution (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-50548 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-50548 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: cursor. 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-2026-50548/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-50548/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-50548
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-50548
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-50548

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-50548/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.