CVE-2026-97023: Flatpak: flatpak: arbitrary file deletion in root context via path traversal in deploy directory export/bin

Severity: high (CVSS 7.1 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-09-28 · updated 2026-10-26
Weakness: CWE-61

Description

A path traversal vulnerability in Flatpak's handling of the export/bin directory during app deployment allows a malicious Flatpak app to cause deletion of attacker-chosen files outside the deployment directory when the app is installed or upgraded. In system-wide installations, the deletion is performed as root.

Affected products

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10: all versions
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7: all versions
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8: all versions
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9: all versions

References

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:89849
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:89850
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:89859
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97023
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2542606
https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak/security/advisories/GHSA-5p67-xh8x-rq54

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