CVE-2026-27976

Zed Extension Sandbox Escape via Tar Symlink Following

HIGH
8.8
CVSS Score
Published: February 25, 2026 at 11:34 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 10:28 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorZed

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Severity
HIGH8.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.7%
SSVC
PoC

Description

Zed, a code editor, has an extension installer allows tar/gzip downloads. Prior to version 0.224.4, the tar extractor (`async_tar::Archive::unpack`) creates symlinks from the archive without validation, and the path guard (`writeable_path_from_extension`) only performs lexical prefix checks without resolving symlinks. An attacker can ship a tar that first creates a symlink inside the extension workdir pointing outside (e.g., `escape -> /`), then writes files through the symlink, causing writes to arbitrary host paths. This escapes the extension sandbox and enables code execution. Version 0.224.4 patches the issue.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 0.224.4
Affected range stops below 0.224.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (1)

x_refsource_CONFIRMExploitMitigationVendor Advisory
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/security/advisories/GHSA-59p4-3mhm-qm3r

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCPoCNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

8.8HIGHGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-61

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