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Path TraversalWeakness · CWE-22

CVE-2026-7179

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
55/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A security vulnerability has been detected in OSPG binwalk up to 2.4.3. This vulnerability affects the function read_null_terminated_string of the file src/binwalk/plugins/winceextract.py of the component WinCE Extraction Plugin. Such manipulation of the argument self.file_name leads to path traversal. The attack can only be performed from a local environment. The exploit has been disclosed publicly and may be used. The project maintainer confirms this issue: "I accept the existence of the Path Traversal vulnerability. However, as stated in the Github link, it reached EOL and as a result no actions should be expected." The GitHub repository mentions, that "[u]sers and contributors should migrate to binwalk v3." This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Path traversal vulnerability in binwalk's WinCE Extraction Plugin (winceextract.py) in the read_null_terminated_string function allows local attackers to access files outside intended directories viamanipulated self.file_name arguments.

MitigationSince binwalk v2.4.3 is EOL with no patch forthcoming, migrate to binwalk v3 or remove/disable the vulnerable winceextract.py plugin if migration is not feasible.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if binwalk is installed
    Run command: which binwalk or pip show binwalk
    Affected if binwalk is not found - not vulnerable (binwalk not installed)
  2. Determine installed binwalk version
    Run command: binwalk --version or pip show binwalk | grep Version
    Affected if version is 2.4.3 or earlier - potentially affected, continue to next check
  3. Locate the winceextract.py plugin file
    Run command: find / -name 'winceextract.py' 2>/dev/null or python3 -c "import binwalk; print(binwalk.__file__)" to find install location
    Affected if file is found - vulnerable plugin is present
  4. Verify version is within affected range
    Compare installed version to affected range (up to and including 2.4.3)
    Affected if version <= 2.4.3 - affected by this vulnerability

If binwalk version 2.4.3 or earlier is installed AND the winceextract.py plugin file exists in the installation, the environment is affected by CVE-2026-7179.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Since binwalk v2.4.3 is EOL with no patch forthcoming, migrate to binwalk v3 or remove/disable the vulnerable winceextract.py plugin if migration is not feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

binwalk v3

  1. 1. Back up any existing binwalk installations, configurations, and any custom plugins or extraction profiles.
  2. 2. Uninstall the current binwalk version (2.4.3 or earlier) using the existing package manager (e.g., pip uninstall binwalk).
  3. 3. Install binwalk v3 (the current supported release) using pip: pip install binwalk.
  4. 4. Verify the installation is working: run binwalk --help to confirm v3 is installed.
  5. 5. Reconfigure any custom extraction profiles or scripts to be compatible with binwalk v3 API if needed.
Caveat Major version upgrade from v2 to v3 may include API changes; review migration guide for binwalk v3 if using custom plugins or scripts.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-7179 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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