---
title: "CVE-2026-90954: BusyBox - Path Traversal"
description: "BusyBox contains a path traversal caused by improper symlink flushing order in dpkg-deb archive extraction, letting attackers write arbitrary files outside the extraction directory, exploit requires crafted .deb archive."
url: https://panop.io/threat-heartbeat/CVE-2026-90954/
---

# CVE-2026-90954 BusyBox - Path Traversal

BusyBox contains a path traversal caused by improper symlink flushing order in dpkg-deb archive extraction, letting attackers write arbitrary files outside the extraction directory, exploit requires crafted .deb archive.

CVSS base score 7.8 /10

High

CISA KEV

Not listed

Public exploit

None known

Authentication

Not required

EPSS

0.20% chance of exploitation in 30 days

[View the NVD record ↗](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90954)

## Details

Type

Path Traversal

Impact

File System Write, Data Tampering

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Published

14 October 2026

Updated

15 October 2026

Weakness

[CWE-59](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/59.html)

## Vendor fix

Update to the latest BusyBox version with the fix for dpkg-deb archive extraction.

Patching closes this CVE. It does not tell you which of your systems run the affected version, or what else is exposed alongside them.

## References

- [https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90954](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90954)
- [https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-90954](https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-90954)
- [https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show\_bug.cgi?id=2533007](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2533007)

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## What this record can't tell you

- Whether you run the affected software, and where
- Whether an attacker can actually reach and exploit it
- The misconfigurations that never get a CVE number
- What it would cost the business, ranked into what to fix first

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