Vulnerability · Published Aug 5, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M

CVE-2026-70603Electron: shell.openPath path validation bypass via embedded null byte

Medium 6.0

In plain English

A medium-severity improper input validation in electron from electron. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.1% (higher than 3% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)6.0Medium

Exploit odds (30 days)0.1%top 97.2% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

Electron is a framework for writing cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Prior to 39.8.6, 40.9.0, 41.1.1, and 42.0.0-beta.1, shell.openPath() did not reject paths containing embedded null bytes. Apps that perform string-only validation of file paths, for example checking the file extension, before passing them to shell.openPath() could be bypassed, allowing an attacker-controlled path to open a different file than the one that passed validation. Apps are only affected if they pass paths derived from untrusted input to shell.openPath() and rely on string-based validation without a filesystem check. This issue is fixed in versions 39.8.6, 40.9.0, 41.1.1, and 42.0.0-beta.1.

Affected packages & fixed versions

Ecosystem	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
npm	electron	42.0.0-beta.1	GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx
npm	electron	41.1.1	GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx
npm	electron	40.9.0	GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx
npm	electron	39.8.6	GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
electron	electron	< 39.8.6>= 40.0.0-alpha.1, < 40.9.0>= 41.0.0-alpha.1, < 41.1.1>= 42.0.0-alpha.1, < 42.0.0-beta.1

Weakness: CWE-20, CWE-158 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

References

https://github.com/electron/electron/security/advisories/GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx x_refsource_CONFIRM