# CVE-2026-6842: Nano: nano: local attacker can inject malicious .desktop launcher due to insecure directory permissions

> Local attackers can inject malicious desktop launchers via insecure directory permissions in nano, potentially leading to code execution or data leakage.

- **Severity:** Low 2.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 1 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-85557, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-6842, GHSA-ccfr-97mr-qq8g, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-6842

## What is CVE-2026-6842?

CVE-2026-6842 is a low-severity vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, published on 22 Apr 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in nano. In environments with permissive umask settings, a local attacker can exploit incorrect directory permissions (0777 instead of 0700) for the `~/.local` directory. This allows the attacker to inject a malicious `.desktop` launcher, which could lead to unintended actions or information disclosure if the launcher is subsequently processed.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-6842?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-6842?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-6842 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-6842 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-6842 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-6842 is a low-severity vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, published on 22 Apr 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-6842 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10. 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-2026-6842/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-6842/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-6842
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-6842
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-6842

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-6842/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.