CVE-2026-85272

Open edX Platform: Path traversal via prefix-bypass in safe_extractall Path Validation

MEDIUM
4.3
CVSS Score
Published: September 18, 2026 at 08:27 PM UTC
Updated: September 24, 2026 at 09:37 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorOpenedx

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Severity
MEDIUM4.3
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.5%
SSVC
PoC

Description

Open edX Platform enables the authoring and delivery of online learning at any scale. From Aspen.1 until Ulmo and Verawood.1, openedx/core/lib/extract_archive.py uses _is_bad_path to validate safe_extractall targets by comparing resolved path strings with startswith instead of comparing path components. A course author or staff user with course import permission can submit a crafted .tar.gz archive through the import_olx flow initiated by cms.djangoapps.contentstore.views.import_export.import_handler. An archive member can therefore escape into a sibling course staging directory whose name shares the attacker's base64 directory prefix, causing limited cross-tenant file corruption. Zip archives are not practically affected because ZipFile.extractall strips parent traversal segments, and the advisory does not establish arbitrary filesystem writes, file reads, or direct code execution. This issue is fixed in Ulmo and Verawood.1.

Affected

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

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCPoCNot automatablePartial impact

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

CVSS

4.3MEDIUMGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
LOW
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusAWAITING ANALYSIS
CWE
CWE-22

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