CVE & CISA-KEV Catalog

CVE-2026-39973

HIGH
7.1
CVSS v3
NVD

Description

Apktool is a tool for reverse engineering Android APK files. In versions 3.0.0 and 3.0.1, a path traversal vulnerability in `brut/androlib/res/decoder/ResFileDecoder.java` allows a maliciously crafted APK to write arbitrary files to the filesystem during standard decoding (`apktool d`). This is a security regression introduced in commit e10a045 (PR #4041, December 12, 2025), which removed the `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` call that previously prevented path traversal in resource file output paths. An attacker can embed `../` sequences in the `resources.arsc` Type String Pool to escape the output directory and write files to arbitrary locations, including `~/.ssh/config`, `~/.bashrc`, or Windows Startup folders, escalating to RCE. The fix in version 3.0.2 re-introduces `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` in `ResFileDecoder.java` before file write operations.

How to fix

Remediation Available
apktoolNVD
Affected:>= 3.0.0, < 3.0.2Fixed in:3.0.2CVE-2026-39973derived from NVD

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionRequired
ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityNone

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

Exploit Intelligence

0.18%probability of exploitation in 30 days
8thpercentile

Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 8% of all known CVEs.

References

Vendor Advisory1
Issue Tracking1
Product1

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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-04-23.