Cursor up to 2.x working_directory path traversal

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Cursor up to 2.x. It has been rated as critical. The affected element is an unknown function. This manipulation of the argument working_directory causes path traversal. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-50548. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Cursor up to 2.x and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown function. The manipulation of the argument working_directory with an unknown input leads to a path traversal vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-22. 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. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

Cursor is a code editor built for programming with AI. Prior to 3.0, Cursor runs agent terminal commands in a sandbox by default, and the sandbox grants write access to the command's working directory. A flaw was identified in how the agent could modify the working_directory parameter, which could cause the sandbox to include writable paths outside the intended workspace. A malicious agent could set working_directory to a sensitive location and write arbitrary files outside the workspace under the user's privileges. This enables non-sandboxed Remote Code Execution — for example by overwriting the cursorsandbox helper so later commands run unsandboxed — with no user interaction beyond a benign prompt. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.0.

The advisory is shared at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-50548 since 06/04/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1006 for this issue.

Upgrading to version 3.0 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Name

• Cursor

Version

• 2.x

Website

• Product: https://github.com/cursor/cursor/

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Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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