CVE-2026-40876: SFTP root escape via prefix-based path validation in goshs

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-40876 is a high (CVSS 8.8) Path Traversal vulnerability in goshs. EPSS estimates a 0.59% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 47.5% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.

Timeline

1. 21-04-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 22-04-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

goshs is a SimpleHTTPServer written in Go. Prior to 2.0.0-beta.6, goshs contains an SFTP root escape caused by prefix-based path validation. An authenticated SFTP user can read from and write to filesystem paths outside the configured SFTP root, which breaks the intended jail boundary and can expose or modify unrelated server files. The SFTP subsystem routes requests through sftpserver/sftpserver.go into DefaultHandler.GetHandler() in sftpserver/handler.go, which forwards file operations into readFile, writeFile, listFile, and cmdFile. All of those sinks rely on sanitizePath() in sftpserver/helper.go. helper.go uses a raw string-prefix comparison, not a directory-boundary check. Because of that, if the configured root is /tmp/goshsroot, then a sibling path such as /tmp/goshsroot_evil/secret.txt incorrectly passes validation since it starts with the same byte prefix. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.0.0-beta.6.

• 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.