CVE-2026-32709: dronecode px4_drone_autopilot Path Traversal

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-32709 is a medium (CVSS 6.8) Path Traversal vulnerability in dronecode px4_drone_autopilot. EPSS estimates a 0.34% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 25.4% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.

Timeline

1. 13-03-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 17-03-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

PX4 autopilot is a flight control solution for drones. Prior to 1.17.0-rc2, An unauthenticated path traversal vulnerability in the PX4 Autopilot MAVLink FTP implementation allows any MAVLink peer to read, write, create, delete, and rename arbitrary files on the flight controller filesystem without authentication. On NuttX targets, the FTP root directory is an empty string, meaning attacker-supplied paths are passed directly to filesystem syscalls with no prefix or sanitization for read operations. On POSIX targets (Linux companion computers, SITL), the write-path validation function unconditionally returns true, providing no protection. A TOCTOU race condition in the write validation on NuttX further allows bypassing the only existing guard. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.17.0-rc2.

• CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')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.