CVE-2026-42885 | Audiobookshelf: Path prefix bypass in filesystem existence check leaks out-of-scope file existence

Audiobookshelf is a self-hosted audiobook and podcast server. Prior to 2.32.2, the POST /api/filesystem/pathexists endpoint uses String.startsWith() to validate that a resolved file path is within a library folder. This check fails for sibling directories whose names share a common prefix (e.g., /audiobooks vs /audiobooks-private), allowing authenticated users with upload permission to probe file existence outside their authorized library folder boundaries. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.32.2.

Published: 2026-05-11 Last update: 2026-05-12 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-42885 is rated Low Risk (21/100): 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-2026-42885

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 2026-05-12 0.04%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-42885

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.8 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-42885

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-42885

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2026-42885

cvelogic Threat Intelligence