# CVE-2026-55569: aqua: Archive extraction in aqua follows attacker-planted symlinks, allowing writes outside the install directory

> A malicious archive can exploit symlink handling to write files outside the install directory, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 28 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 1 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mf5c-hw34-4hpp, GO-2026-6314

## What is CVE-2026-55569?

CVE-2026-55569 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in aquaproj aqua, published on 28 Aug 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

aqua is a declarative command-line version manager written in Go. Prior to 2.60.1, pkg/unarchive/archives.go in the handler.HandleFile method calls os.Symlink with archives.FileInfo.LinkTarget without verifying that the target remains under the extraction destination. A later regular-file entry at the same archive path is opened with OpenFile using O_CREATE and O_WRONLY, which follows the attacker-planted symlink. A malicious or compromised package archive can therefore write attacker-controlled bytes outside aqua's extraction directory with the privileges of the user running aqua, potentially overwriting shell startup files, tool configuration, or writable executable paths. This issue is fixed in version 2.60.1.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-55569?

4 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2 and github.com/aquaproj/aqua.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2` | Go | All versions | 2.60.1 |
| `github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2` | Go | All versions | 2.60.1 |
| `github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2` | Go | All versions | 2.60.1 |
| `github.com/aquaproj/aqua` | Go | All versions | None |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-55569?

Upgrade github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2 to 2.60.1 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-55569 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-55569 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-55569 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-55569 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in aquaproj aqua, published on 28 Aug 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-55569 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2 (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 2.60.1
- github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2 (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 2.60.1
- github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2 (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 2.60.1
- github.com/aquaproj/aqua (Go): affected all versions; no fix listed

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-2026-55569/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-55569/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-55569
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55569
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-55569

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-55569/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.