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CVE-2026-39973 Detail

Description

Apktool is a tool for reverse engineering Android APK files. In versions 3.0.0 and 3.0.1, a path traversal vulnerability in `brut/androlib/res/decoder/ResFileDecoder.java` allows a maliciously crafted APK to write arbitrary files to the filesystem during standard decoding (`apktool d`). This is a security regression introduced in commit e10a045 (PR #4041, December 12, 2025), which removed the `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` call that previously prevented path traversal in resource file output paths. An attacker can embed `../` sequences in the `resources.arsc` Type String Pool to escape the output directory and write files to arbitrary locations, including `~/.ssh/config`, `~/.bashrc`, or Windows Startup folders, escalating to RCE. The fix in version 3.0.2 re-introduces `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` in `ResFileDecoder.java` before file write operations.


Metrics

NVD enrichment efforts reference publicly available information to associate vector strings. CVSS information contributed by other sources is also displayed.
CVSS 4.0 Severity and Vector Strings:

NIST CVSS score
NIST: NVD
N/A
NVD assessment not yet provided.

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

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URL Source(s) Tag(s)
https://github.com/iBotPeaches/Apktool/commit/e10a0450c7afcd9462c0b76bcbff0e7428b92bdd#diff-cd531ebe1014bfd18185bf21585ca5cdb16fbcb07703ebc47949a1b4e4e36bc3 GitHub, Inc.
https://github.com/iBotPeaches/Apktool/pull/4041 GitHub, Inc.
https://github.com/iBotPeaches/Apktool/releases/tag/v3.0.2 GitHub, Inc.
https://github.com/iBotPeaches/Apktool/security/advisories/GHSA-m8mh-x359-vm8m GitHub, Inc.

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-ID CWE Name Source
CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') GitHub, Inc.  

Change History

1 change records found show changes

Quick Info

CVE Dictionary Entry:
CVE-2026-39973
NVD Published Date:
04/20/2026
NVD Last Modified:
04/21/2026
Source:
GitHub, Inc.