Summary
Aqua's archive extraction follows attacker-planted symlinks, allowing writes outside the install directory
aquaproj/aqua extracts downloaded tool archives through pkg/unarchive/archives.go using github.com/mholt/archives. The archive handler creates symlink entries with os.Symlink(f.LinkTarget, dstPath) without validating that the symlink target resolves inside the extraction destination. A subsequent regular-file archive entry with the same path is opened with OpenFile(dstPath, O_CREATE|O_WRONLY), which follows the attacker-planted symlink.
A malicious or compromised aqua package / release asset can therefore write attacker-controlled bytes outside aqua's extraction directory, with the privileges of the user running aqua.
Details
Affected file: pkg/unarchive/archives.go
Affected function: (*handler).HandleFile
The vulnerable logic is the combination of:
os.Symlink(f.LinkTarget, dstPath)
for symlink entries, followed by:
h.fs.OpenFile(dstPath, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY, f.Mode())
for a later regular file entry at the same archive path. The symlink target is not jailed to the extraction destination, and the later file open follows the symlink.
The attached PoC uses a two-entry tar.gz archive:
- symlink
pwn -> <outside target>; - regular file
pwncontaining attacker-controlled bytes.
The same mholt/archives extraction flow is used for the vulnerable handler and for a negative-control handler using a destination-root jail.
PoC
Attachment: submission_aqua_archive_symlink_traversal_v2_final.zip
Run:
go run mkarchive.go /tmp/aqua-outside-target
go build -o aqua-archive-poc .
mkdir -p /tmp/aqua-dest
./aqua-archive-poc vuln /tmp/aqua-dest malicious.tar.gz
cat /tmp/aqua-outside-target
mkdir -p /tmp/aqua-dest-safe
./aqua-archive-poc safe /tmp/aqua-dest-safe malicious.tar.gz
Expected vulnerable result:
/tmp/aqua-outside-target contains PWNED_BY_AQUA_SYMLINK_TRAVERSAL
Expected safe-control result:
The escaping symlink / write is rejected and the outside target is unchanged.
Impact
An attacker who controls an archive that aqua installs can write attacker-controlled content to paths outside the extraction destination, limited by the filesystem permissions of the user running aqua. This can lead to user-level code execution if the overwritten path is later executed or interpreted, for example a shell startup file, a tool configuration file, or a writable PATH entry.
This report does not claim privilege escalation beyond the aqua process privileges.
Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files. Typical impact: unauthorized file read or write outside the intended directory.
CVE-2026-55569 has a CVSS score of 6.6 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, no privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.60.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-55569? CVE-2026-55569 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2 (go), affecting versions < 2.60.1. It is fixed in 2.60.1. Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files.
- How severe is CVE-2026-55569? CVE-2026-55569 has a CVSS score of 6.6 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2 are affected by CVE-2026-55569? github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2 (go) versions < 2.60.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-55569? Yes. CVE-2026-55569 is fixed in 2.60.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-55569 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-55569 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-55569 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-55569? Upgrade
github.com/aquaproj/aqua/v2to 2.60.1 or later.