High · CVSS 7.5CVE-2026-96612

Path traversal in Hex via unvalidated dependency app namesCVE-2026-96612

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-96612 records a High severity (CVSS 7.5) vulnerability in Path traversal in Hex via unvalidated dependency app names. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps hexpm/hex (generic), hexpm/hexpm/hex (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Oct 12, 2026Updated Oct 12, 2026Source checked Oct 12, 2026First seen by HOL Oct 12, 2026Material review Oct 12, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: High · CVSS 7.5
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 2 mapped packages or products
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

CVSS is 7.5. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps hexpm/hex (generic), hexpm/hexpm/hex (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
hexpm/hexgeneric	>=0.6.0 <2.5.2	2.5.2
hexpm/hexpm/hexgeneric	>=380f87054e1bc08ee13d2b5311bc01f98dad2fc6 <*	*

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for hexpm/hex, hexpm/hexpm/hex.
Review the reported fix. Source-reported solution: Upgrade Hex to 2.5.2 or later, for example with mix local.hex. Hex then skips package releases that give a dependency an application name other than a letter followed by letters, digits, _ and -, and warns about them. Resolution fails if no other release of the package fits the requirements.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Oct 12, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Oct 12, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Oct 12, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in hexpm hex allows a malicious package publisher to delete a directory outside the project's deps directory and extract package files into it when a developer fetches dependencies. A package release's requirements carry an app label that names the dependency's OTP application. Hex takes this label from the repository's signed registry and uses it as the dependency's application name without validating it (Hex.RemoteConverger.deps/2, Hex.Mix.to_lock/1). Mix derives the dependency's checkout directory as deps/<app>, and Hex.SCM.update/1 runs File.rm_rf!/1 on that directory and unpacks the package into it. hex.pm only checks the label's length, so a publisher can set it to a value such as ../../target. When a project depends on such a release directly or transitively, mix deps.get or mix deps.update deletes the directory the label resolves to and writes the labelled package's files there. This happens before any dependency code is compiled. This issue affects hex: from 0.6.0 before 2.5.2.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.