# CVE-2026-9181: Directory Traversal in ArcGIS Server

> Unauthenticated attackers can overwrite sensitive files via crafted path parameters, leading to full administrative access on ArcGIS Server.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 6 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 8 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8h42-h5vq-h5gv

## What is CVE-2026-9181?

CVE-2026-9181 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in Esri Arcgis Server, published on 6 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Esri ArcGIS Server contains a directory traversal vulnerability. ArcGIS Enterprise on Kubernetes is not impacted. An unauthenticated attacker could exploit this issue by sending crafted path parameters. Successful exploitation could allow overwriting sensitive files on the system. Abuse of this issue can allow full administrative access to ArcGIS Server, with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This issue impacts all versions of ArcGIS Server on Windows and Linux 12.0 and prior. This issue does not impact ArcGIS Enterprise for Kubernetes.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-9181?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Esri Arcgis Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-9181?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-9181 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-9181 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-9181 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Esri Arcgis Server

- [CVE-2025-57870](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-57870/): BUG-000179884 - There is a security vulnerability in ArcGIS Server Feature Services. (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-9182](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-9182/): Unvalidated File Upload vulnerability in ArcGIS Server. (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-35712](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-35712/): Server-side request forgery in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-29102](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-29102/): There is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Esri ArcGIS Server Manager version 10.8.1 and below. (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2024-51962](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-51962/): SQL injection vulnerability in ArcGIS Server (high 8.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-9181 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-9181 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in Esri Arcgis Server, published on 6 Jul 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-2026-9181 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Esri Arcgis Server. 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-2026-9181/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-9181/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-9181
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-9181
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-9181

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-9181/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.