Axel Download Accelerator Path Traversal via URL Filename Decoding

{
  "id": "d15affa69297d413657a04d785dfa8bbe784ef02ee6eea190826e3f79bbaca2e",
  "url": "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-118485",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "Axel Download Accelerator Path Traversal via URL Filename Decoding",
    "summary": "Axel Download Accelerator 2.17.14 and earlier performs URL percent-decoding (http_decode()) on the output filename after the URL has been parsed and the filename component extracted. This allows an attacker to embed %2e%2e%2f (URL-encoded ../) sequences in the URL path. These sequences survive the URL parser intact (they contain no literal / characters) but are decoded into directory traversal sequences before the output file is opened for writing. As a result, a crafted URL can cause axel to write downloaded content to arbitrary filesystem paths relative to the current working directory.",
    "evidence": "cve:CVE-2026-118485",
    "products": [
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "Axel",
          "evidence": "/containers/cna/affected/0/product"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [],
        "affected_versions": []
      }
    ],
    "severity": "high",
    "structured": {
      "id": "CVE-2026-118485",
      "aliases": [
        "CVE-2026-118485"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "format": "CVSS",
          "cvssV4_0": {
            "Safety": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "version": "4.0",
            "Recovery": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "baseScore": 7,
            "Automatable": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "attackVector": "NETWORK",
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "valueDensity": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
            "exploitMaturity": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "providerUrgency": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "userInteraction": "ACTIVE",
            "attackComplexity": "LOW",
            "attackRequirements": "NONE",
            "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
            "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
            "vulnIntegrityImpact": "HIGH",
            "subAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
            "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "HIGH",
            "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
            "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
            "vulnerabilityResponseEffort": "NOT_DEFINED"
          },
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "GENERAL"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "format": "CVSS",
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "scope": "UNCHANGED",
            "version": "3.1",
            "baseScore": 8.1,
            "attackVector": "NETWORK",
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H",
            "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
            "userInteraction": "REQUIRED",
            "attackComplexity": "LOW",
            "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
            "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
            "confidentialityImpact": "NONE"
          },
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "GENERAL"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "repo": "https://github.com/axel-download-accelerator/axel/",
          "vendor": "Axel Download Accelerator",
          "product": "Axel",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "git",
              "lessThanOrEqual": "2.17.14"
            }
          ],
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected"
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-28T11:26:59.053Z",
      "provider": "cve",
      "references": [
        "https://github.com/axel-download-accelerator/axel/issues/477",
        "https://github.com/axel-download-accelerator/axel/pull/483/changes/4e76e1a1dd1c4ea11b445e2c45e4ee257c76314e",
        "https://github.com/axel-download-accelerator/axel/milestone/22",
        "https://advisories.orangecyberdefense.com/advisories/167"
      ],
      "provider_metadata": {
        "cna": {
          "orgId": "6064c9f1-42e5-4cc5-a67a-1636d7a9d3fd",
          "shortName": "OCD",
          "dateUpdated": "2026-10-28T11:26:59.053Z"
        }
      }
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2026-118485",
        "evidence": "/cveMetadata/cveId"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/containers/cna/metrics"
  },
  "source_id": "core-cve",
  "document_id": 429753,
  "published_at": "2026-10-28T11:26:59.053+00:00"
}