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CVE-2026-96612: hex can delete any folder when fetching malicious package

CVE-2026-96612 · published 3 days ago

Summary

When a developer uses hexpm/hex (or the Erlang package manager) to download a library, a specially crafted package can cause the tool to remove files outside the project's dependency folder and place the package’s contents there. This happens because the package name is not checked for unsafe path characters. Upgrade hex to version 2.5.2 or later and review third‑party packages before adding them to your project.

What to do

Update hexpm hex to version 72279a8e2004b32b20d8767ff010c117193dd02c.

Affected software

Ecosystem	Vendor	Product	Affected versions
–	hexpm	hex	< 2.5.2 < * Fix: upgrade to 72279a8e2004b32b20d8767ff010c117193dd02c
Debian:13	debian	erlang-hex	All versions

Original advisory text

Path traversal in Hex via unvalidated dependency app names

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.

References

https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-96612.html URL
https://github.com/hexpm/hex/security/advisories/GHSA-2vjj-c5hr-6xc3 Vendor Advisory
https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-96612 URL
https://github.com/hexpm/hex/commit/380f87054e1bc08ee13d2b5311bc01f98dad2fc6 Patch
https://github.com/hexpm/hex/commit/1b3e2ae8f0dd7273a2c2625b9e50b6c67c8568fb Patch
https://github.com/hexpm/hex/commit/72279a8e2004b32b20d8767ff010c117193dd02c Patch
https://github.com URL
https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/96xxx/CVE-2026-96612... Vendor Advisory
https://github.com/hexpm/hex Product
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96612 Vendor Advisory
https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-96612 Vendor Advisory

Fix within

Internet-facing 14 days

Internal At next upgrade

Not known to be exploited
Needs hands-on effort to exploit (estimated)
Gives an attacker full control (estimated)

Severity

9.9 Critical

Exploitation

<1% chance of attack within 30 days

Type

CWE-22Path Traversal

Timeline

Published12 Oct 2026

Updated15 Oct 2026

First seen12 Oct 2026

Sources

CVE-2026-96612 · NVD

CVE-2026-96612 · MITRE

EEF-CVE-2026-96612 · OSV

GHSA-2vjj-c5hr-6xc3 · GHSA

CVE-2026-96612 · OSV

DEBIAN-CVE-2026-96612 · OSV

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