# CVE-2026-80432: Missing authorization in kitty

> A missing authorization check in kitty allows malicious clients to read dragged file contents without user drop confirmation, leading to information disclosure.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.0 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **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:** No
- **Published:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-80432, GHSA-ghc4-9m25-367h, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-80432

## What is CVE-2026-80432?

CVE-2026-80432 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Kovid Goyal kitty, published on 25 Sep 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

Missing Authorization in the drop handling path of the drag and drop protocol in kitty from 0.47.0 before 0.49.0 allows a program writing to the terminal to obtain the contents of files dragged over the window even when the user never completes the drop, because drop_enqueue_request() in kitty/dnd.c serves a drag data request without first checking the drop state of the window, so a client that issues the request while a drag is merely hovering receives the data offered for the drag. In the same file, drop_left_child(), which runs when the drag leaves the window without a drop having occurred, releases the offered MIME list but retains the pending request state, the open file descriptor and its main loop transfer timer, the directory handles, the URI list and the pending MIME name, so a client can continue to read through a retained directory handle, and an in-flight file transfer continues to stream, when no drag is in progress. The file contents are read from the filesystem by the kitty process itself using the paths the drag source offered. This results in disclosure of the contents of files the user moved over the window without ever releasing them into it.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-80432?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-80432?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-80432 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-80432 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80432 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-80432 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-80432 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Kovid Goyal kitty, published on 25 Sep 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: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80432 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Kovid Goyal kitty. 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-2026-80432/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80432/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80432
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80432
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-80432

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80432/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.