CVE-2026-54056 Kitty has an arbitrary file overwrite via symlink following in `kitten dnd` remote drop staging
A malicious remote drag-and-drop source can overwrite arbitrary files via symlink following in Kitty terminal's kitten dnd staging.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-54056?
CVE-2026-54056 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in kovidgoyal kitty, published on 12 Jun 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. In versions 0.47.0 and 0.47.1, `kitten dnd` can allow a malicious remote drag-and-drop source to overwrite or truncate arbitrary files writable by the local kitty user. Remote `text/uri-list` drops are staged in a temporary directory, but on case-sensitive filesystems duplicate remote basenames are not de-duplicated. An attacker can first create a staged symlink and then send a same-name regular-file entry. The regular-file write uses `utils.CreateAt()` / `openat(O_RDWR|O_CREAT|O_TRUNC)` without `O_NOFOLLOW`, so it follows the attacker-created symlink and writes outside the staging directory before final overwrite confirmation runs. This appears related in class to the file-transfer symlink advisory, but it is a different bug: it affects `kitten dnd` remote drag-and-drop staging, uses different vulnerable code (`kittens/dnd/drop.go` and `tools/utils/file_at_fd.go`), and reproduces on commit `4aa4a5c0567a92553a8c20a88a4352da637fca5d`, after the file-transfer `O_NOFOLLOW` fix. Version 0.47.2 patches the issue.
Weakness: CWE-59
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-54056?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Kovidgoyal Kitty.
How do I fix CVE-2026-54056?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-54056 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-54056 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in kovidgoyal kitty
- CVE-2026-33642 Kitty has a Heap Buffer Over-Read/Write via Integer Overflow in compose_rectangles Bounds Check
- CVE-2026-42851 @kitty-edit DCS + --color=geninclude vulnerable to Unauthenticated in-process RCE
- CVE-2026-33633 Kitty has a Heap Buffer Overflow in its Graphics Protocol Handler
- CVE-2026-42850 Kitty has a shell command injection
- CVE-2026-54057 Kitty vulnerable to command injection via unsanitized OSC 21 query reply
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-54056, GHSA-r892-cv7q-fw8x, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-54056.