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Vulnerability · Published Jan 21, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M

CVE-2026-24046Backstage has a Possible Symlink Path Traversal in Scaffolder Actions

High 7.1

In plain English

A high-severity path traversal in backstage from backstage. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.5% (higher than 45% of all known vulnerabilities). Ready-made attack tooling exists: public proof-of-concept code. Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.1High
Exploit odds (30 days)0.5%top 55.3% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack tooling1Public PoC

Official description

Backstage is an open framework for building developer portals. Multiple Scaffolder actions and archive extraction utilities were vulnerable to symlink-based path traversal attacks. An attacker with access to create and execute Scaffolder templates could exploit symlinks to read arbitrary files via the `debug:log` action by creating a symlink pointing to sensitive files (e.g., `/etc/passwd`, configuration files, secrets); delete arbitrary files via the `fs:delete` action by creating symlinks pointing outside the workspace, and write files outside the workspace via archive extraction (tar/zip) containing malicious symlinks. This affects any Backstage deployment where users can create or execute Scaffolder templates. This vulnerability is fixed in `@backstage/backend-defaults` versions 0.12.2, 0.13.2, 0.14.1, and 0.15.0; `@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend` versions 2.2.2, 3.0.2, and 3.1.1; and `@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-node` versions 0.11.2 and 0.12.3. Users should upgrade to these versions or later. Some workarounds are available. Follow the recommendation in the Backstage Threat Model to limit access to creating and updating templates, restrict who can create and execute Scaffolder templates using the permissions framework, audit existing templates for symlink usage, and/or run Backstage in a containerized environment with limited filesystem access.

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
npm@backstage/backend-defaults0.12.2GHSA-rq6q-wr2q-7pgp
npm@backstage/backend-defaults0.13.2GHSA-rq6q-wr2q-7pgp
npm@backstage/backend-defaults0.14.1GHSA-rq6q-wr2q-7pgp
npm@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend2.2.2GHSA-rq6q-wr2q-7pgp
npm@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend3.0.2GHSA-rq6q-wr2q-7pgp
npm@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend3.1.1GHSA-rq6q-wr2q-7pgp
npm@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-node0.11.2GHSA-rq6q-wr2q-7pgp
npm@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-node0.12.3GHSA-rq6q-wr2q-7pgp

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
backstage backstage @backstage/backend-defaults < 0.12.2@backstage/backend-defaults >= 0.13.0, < 0.13.2@backstage/backend-defaults >= 0.14.0, < 0.14.1@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend < 2.2.2@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend >= 3.0.0, < 3.0.2@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend >= 3.1.0, < 3.1.1@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-node < 0.11.2@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-node >= 0.12.0, < 0.12.3

Weakness: CWE-22, CWE-59 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L

References