All vulnerabilities
CVE-2026-118485

Axel Download Accelerator Path Traversal via URL Filename Decoding

Axel Download Accelerator Axel
CVSS
7.0High
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)No scoreNo FIRST EPSS score in this snapshot yet
Fixed inNone listedNo source names a fixed version. Check the vendor advisory below
Published28 Oct 2026Updated 28 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

No source in this snapshot names a fixed version. The vendor advisories under References are the place to check.

Description

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.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 1

  • Axelaffected: all versions through 2.17.14CVE List

References 4