CVE-2026-48350
Summary
by MITRE • 07/14/2026
Animate is affected by an Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to access sensitive files or directories outside the intended restrictions. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file. Scope is changed.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/14/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical path traversal flaw in the animate application that allows attackers to bypass directory restrictions and access arbitrary files on the system. The weakness stems from improper validation of file paths during file operations, enabling attackers to craft malicious inputs that traverse directory boundaries using sequences like ../ or ..\ to access restricted directories outside the intended application scope. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-22, which specifically addresses improper limitation of pathname characters or components, making it a well-documented and dangerous class of security flaw.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires user interaction where victims must open a malicious file containing crafted path traversal sequences. This creates a social engineering component that attackers can leverage by disguising malicious files within legitimate-looking documents or media files. When the application processes these files without proper input sanitization, it executes code in the context of the current user, potentially leading to complete system compromise depending on the privileges of the affected account. The vulnerability's impact is particularly severe because it enables arbitrary code execution, which aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059 for command and scripting interpreter usage.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to organizations using the animate application as it allows attackers to access sensitive system files, configuration data, or user information that should normally be restricted. The path traversal mechanism can potentially expose database files, system binaries, or authentication credentials stored in directories outside the application's intended scope. Attackers could exploit this to escalate privileges, gather intelligence about the system architecture, or establish persistent access through the execution of malicious code in the victim's context. The requirement for user interaction limits the automated exploitation potential but does not eliminate the threat entirely.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust input validation and sanitization mechanisms that prevent path traversal sequences from being processed by the application. Organizations should enforce strict file path validation using absolute paths, normalize all input before processing, and implement proper access controls to restrict file system operations. The principle of least privilege should be applied to limit the application's access rights, ensuring it operates with minimal required permissions. Additionally, regular security updates and patches should be deployed immediately when available, while security monitoring systems should be configured to detect suspicious file access patterns or attempts to traverse directory boundaries as outlined in MITRE ATT&CK framework guidance for preventing path traversal attacks.