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Vulnerability record · CVE-2026-39973 · published 21 April 2026

CVE-2026-39973: Apktool path traversal vulnerability

Apktool · Apktool

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.

7.1 CVSS 3.1 High EPSS 0.19% · top 92.7% CWE-22 · Path traversal
7.1CVSS 3.1 base score
0.19%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
1Affected product versions listed by NVD
4References
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

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.

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

Affected products

1 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
https://github.com/iBotPeaches/Apktool/commit/e10a0450c7afcd9462c0b76bcbff0e7428b92bdd#diff-cd531ebe1014bfd18185bf21585c Patch
https://github.com/iBotPeaches/Apktool/pull/4041 Issue Tracking
https://github.com/iBotPeaches/Apktool/releases/tag/v3.0.2 Product
https://github.com/iBotPeaches/Apktool/security/advisories/GHSA-m8mh-x359-vm8m MitigationVendor Advisory

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Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2026-39973), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.