Axel up to 2.17.14 URL Parser http_decode path traversal

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Axel up to 2.17.14. It has been classified as problematic. This affects the function http_decode of the component URL Parser. This manipulation causes path traversal. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-118485. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Axel up to 2.17.14. It has been declared as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is the function http_decode of the component URL Parser. The manipulation 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 integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

Axel Download Accelerator 2.17.14 and earlier performs URL percent-decoding (http_decode()) on the output filename after the URL has been parsed and the filename component extracted. This allows an attacker to embed %2e%2e%2f (URL-encoded ../) sequences in the URL path. These sequences survive the URL parser intact (they contain no literal / characters) but are decoded into directory traversal sequences before the output file is opened for writing. As a result, a crafted URL can cause axel to write downloaded content to arbitrary filesystem paths relative to the current working directory.

The advisory is shared at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-118485 since 10/28/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/28/2026). MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1006 for this issue.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

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Productinfo

Name

• Axel

Version

• 2.17.0
• 2.17.1
• 2.17.2
• 2.17.3
• 2.17.4
• 2.17.5
• 2.17.6
• 2.17.7
• 2.17.8
• 2.17.9
• 2.17.10
• 2.17.11
• 2.17.12
• 2.17.13
• 2.17.14

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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