CVE-2026-49453

Received Received - Intake

Path Traversal in Joplin Note-Taking App

Publication date: 2026-09-21

Last updated on: 2026-09-21

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description

Joplin is an open source note-taking and to-do application that organises notes and lists into notebooks. Prior to 3.6.15 and 3.7.2, Joplin accepts synchronized resource metadata whose id or file_extension contains parent-directory or path-separator characters. BaseItem.unserialize() stores the unvalidated fields, resourceFilename() concatenates them into a destination path, and ResourceFetcher writes the attacker-controlled resource blob outside the resource directory during background synchronization. An attacker with write access to a configured sync target or shared notebook can create or overwrite files at an attacker-chosen existing path without user interaction. This issue is fixed in versions 3.6.15 and 3.7.2.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
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Meta Information

Published

2026-09-21

Last Modified

2026-09-21

Generated

2026-09-22

AI Q&A

2026-09-22

EPSS Evaluated

N/A

NVD

CVE-2026-49453

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
joplin	joplin	to 3.6.15 (inc)
joplin	joplin	to 3.7.2 (inc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-20	The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.
CWE-22	The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

Joplin is a note-taking app vulnerable in versions before 3.6.15 and 3.7.2. It improperly validates resource metadata during synchronization, allowing attackers to inject parent-directory or path-separator characters in file IDs or extensions. This lets them create or overwrite files outside the intended resource directory without user interaction.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by checking the Joplin version installed on your system. If you are running a version prior to 3.6.15 or 3.7.2, your system is vulnerable. Commands to check the version include 'joplin --version' on Linux/macOS or checking the application version in the settings menu.

Impact Analysis

An attacker with access to your sync target or shared notebook could overwrite existing files on your system. This might include critical system files, application data, or other sensitive documents, potentially causing data loss or system instability.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized file access or modification, violating data integrity and confidentiality requirements in GDPR and HIPAA. Organizations may face compliance violations if sensitive data is exposed or altered due to this issue.

Mitigation Strategies

Immediately update Joplin to version 3.6.15 or 3.7.2 or later. If updating is not possible, restrict write access to configured sync targets or shared notebooks to prevent unauthorized file creation or modification.

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