# CVE-2026-96651: Plex Media Server path traversal

> Remote attackers with valid sessions or LAN access can read arbitrary files, including tokens that grant full control of the Plex account and server.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 23 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 23 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x3g5-jwm4-93w7

## What is CVE-2026-96651?

CVE-2026-96651 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Plex Media Server, published on 23 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Plex Media Server before 1.43.3.10861 builds a file path from the url parameter without checking it for ../ sequences, allowing path traversal via '/system/agents/media/get'. A remote attacker with a valid session token could read any file that the target user can access. This access includes the PlexOnlineToken, which grants control of the Plex account and server. A LAN-adjacent attacker with a client-supplied X-Forwarded-For header could exploit the same issue.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-96651?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Plex Media Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-96651?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-96651 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-96651 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-96651 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Plex Media Server

- [CVE-2026-96656](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96656/): Plex Media Server External Control of File Name or Path (high 8.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-5741](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5741/): Plex Media Server Remote Code Execution (high 7.2, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-96654](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96654/): Plex Media Server Improper Neutralization of Encoded URI Schemes in a Web Page (medium 6.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-96652](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96652/): Plex Media Server Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (medium 5.3, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-96655](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96655/): Plex Media Server Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (medium 5.3, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-96651 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-96651 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Plex Media Server, published on 23 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-96651 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Plex Media 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-2026-96651/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96651/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-96651
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96651
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-96651

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96651/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.