CVE-2026-39378 | nbconvert has an Arbitrary File Read via Path Traversal in HTMLExporter Image Embedding

The nbconvert tool, jupyter nbconvert, converts Jupyter notebooks to various other formats via Jinja templates. In versions 6.5 through 7.17.0, when `HTMLExporter.embed_images=True`, nbconvert's markdown renderer allows arbitrary file read via path traversal in image references. A malicious notebook can exfiltrate sensitive files from the conversion host by embedding them as base64 data URIs in the output HTML. nbconvert 7.17.1 contains a fix. As a workaround, do not enable `HTMLExporter.embed_images`; it is not enabled by default.

Published: 2026-04-21 Last update: 2026-04-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-39378 is rated Low Risk (29.8/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.04%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-39378

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-21 0.04%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-39378

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-39378

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-39378

GHSA-7jqv-fw35-gmx9 · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: pip — nbconvert has an Arbitrary File Read via Path Traversal in HTMLExporter Image Embedding

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-39378

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-39378 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (nbconvert), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 3, resolved 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-39378
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-39378 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (nbconvert), 7 status rows across 7 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, resolute, upstream): needs-triage 7. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-39378

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-39378

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
jupyter nbconvert >= 6.5.0, < 7.17.1 cpe:2.3:a:jupyter:nbconvert:*:*:*:*:*:python:*:*

References for CVE-2026-39378

cvelogic Threat Intelligence