Path traversal in Hex via unvalidated dependency app names
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-96612 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | EEF |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-10-12 16:17:07 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-10-12 16:17:07 UTC |
| Description | Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in hexpm hex allows a malicious package publisher to delete a directory outside the project's deps directory and extract package files into it when a developer fetches dependencies. A package release's requirements carry an app label that names the dependency's OTP application. Hex takes this label from the repository's signed registry and uses it as the dependency's application name without validating it (Hex.RemoteConverger.deps/2, Hex.Mix.to_lock/1). Mix derives the dependency's checkout directory as deps/<app>, and Hex.SCM.update/1 runs File.rm_rf!/1 on that directory and unpacks the package into it. hex.pm only checks the label's length, so a publisher can set it to a value such as ../../target. When a project depends on such a release directly or transitively, mix deps.get or mix deps.update deletes the directory the label resolves to and writes the labelled package's files there. This happens before any dependency code is compiled. This issue affects hex: from 0.6.0 before 2.5.2. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 7.5 HIGH from 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Problem Types: CWE-22 | CWE-22 CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db | Secondary | 7.5 | HIGH | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 7.5 | HIGH | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/hexpm/hex/commit/380f87054e1bc08ee13d2b5311bc01f98dad2fc6 | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db | github.com | |
| osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-96612 | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db | osv.dev | |
| github.com/hexpm/hex/commit/1b3e2ae8f0dd7273a2c2625b9e50b6c67c8568fb | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db | github.com | |
| github.com/hexpm/hex/commit/72279a8e2004b32b20d8767ff010c117193dd02c | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db | github.com | |
| cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-96612.html | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db | cna.erlef.org | |
| github.com/hexpm/hex/security/advisories/GHSA-2vjj-c5hr-6xc3 | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Peter Ullrich (en)
CNA: Eric Meadows-Jönsson (en)
CNA: Jonatan Männchen / EEF (en)
Additional Advisory Data
Solutions
CNA: Upgrade Hex to 2.5.2 or later, for example with mix local.hex. Hex then skips package releases that give a dependency an application name other than a letter followed by letters, digits, _ and -, and warns about them. Resolution fails if no other release of the package fits the requirements.
Workarounds
CNA: Before running mix deps.get on a mix.lock from an untrusted change, check that every key in mix.lock is a plain application name without /, \ or ... There's no workaround for new dependency resolution with mix deps.update or mix deps.get without a lock entry.