CVE-2026-53940
Received
Received - Intake
Path Traversal in Conda Package Manager
Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-53940, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.
Publication date: 2026-09-21
Last updated on: 2026-09-21
Assigner: GitHub, Inc.
Description
Description
Conda is a system-level binary package and environment manager that runs on major operating systems and platforms. Prior to 26.5.2, parse_entry_point_def in conda/common/path/python.py accepted an unvalidated entry-point command from a noarch:python package's info/link.json metadata. CreatePythonEntryPointAction in conda/core/path_actions.py interpolated that command into target_short_path, and PrefixPathAction.target_full_path joined it to the installation prefix without verifying that the result remained under the intended bin or Scripts directory. create_python_entry_point in conda/gateways/disk/create.py then wrote an executable wrapper to the resulting path. A malicious package could use path separators, traversal segments, or an absolute command path to write outside the prefix or overwrite another in-prefix entry point during default install and environment transactions. Out-of-prefix writes require the target parent directory to exist, while an overwritten entry point can execute attacker-controlled Python when later invoked with the installing user's privileges. This issue is fixed in version 26.5.2.
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| continuum_analytics | conda | to 26.5.1 (inc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
KEV
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| CWE-73 | The product allows user input to control or influence paths or file names that are used in filesystem operations. |
