# CVE-2026-96284: Flatpak: flatpak: arbitrary read-access to files in the system-helper context via oci symlink following

> A malicious user can read arbitrary files in the system-helper context by exploiting symlink following during OCI image imports if a system OCI repository is configured.

- **Severity:** Low 2.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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:** 27 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 29 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-96284, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96284

## What is CVE-2026-96284?

CVE-2026-96284 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, published on 27 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A malicious user can get read-access to files in the flatpak-system-helper context if a system OCI repository is configured, because the OCI code paths in the system helper follow symlinks when importing OCI images that are under the user's control.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-96284?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-96284?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-96284 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-96284 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-96284 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-96284 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, published on 27 Sep 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-2026-96284 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-2026-96284/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96284/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-96284
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96284
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-96284

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96284/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.