CVE-2026-72814: actix actix-web Path Traversal

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-72814 is a medium (CVSS 6.3) Path Traversal vulnerability in actix actix-web. EPSS estimates a 0.47% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 39.5% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 14-08-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 14-08-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

The actix-files crate (actix_files) before version 0.6.10 contains an information exposure vulnerability. When a non-existing folder is passed as the serve_from argument to Files::new(), the mount path defaults to an empty path; the service then joins the request path with this empty path and canonicalizes it, causing Rust to resolve it as a relative path. As a result, an attacker can request paths that resolve relative to the application's working directory and access unintended files.

• 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.