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K3s: ZIP Archive Path Traversal Vulnerability in etcd Snapshot Decompression

Moderate severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jun 3, 2026 in k3s-io/k3s • Updated Jul 14, 2026

Package

gomod github.com/k3s-io/k3s (Go)

Affected versions

>= 1.35.0-rc1, < 1.35.3
>= 1.34.0-rc1, < 1.34.6
< 1.33.10

Patched versions

1.35.3
1.34.6
1.33.10

Description

Summary

A path traversal vulnerability exists in K3s's etcd snapshot decompression functionality. Zip files containing archive members with maliciously crafted names (e.g., ../../../../etc/password) can be written to arbitrary locations on the filesystem when an administrator restores the archive as a compressed etcd snapshot.

Mitigations

  • Enable golang's built-in insecure path protections when restoring snapshots by setting theGODEBUG environment variable: 
    GODEBUG=zipinsecurepath=0 k3s server --cluster-reset --cluster-reset-restore-path=/path/to/snapshot.zip
  • Manually extract the snapshot from the zip archive before restoring it. If the snapshot to be restored does not end with .zip, the vulnerable extraction code will not be executed.

Additional Notes

Administrators should be aware of the cautions noted in the "Security" section of the documentation on Restoring Snapshots.

References

@cwayne18 cwayne18 published to k3s-io/k3s Jun 3, 2026
Published by the National Vulnerability Database Jun 25, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Jul 14, 2026
Reviewed Jul 14, 2026
Last updated Jul 14, 2026

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
High
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(2nd percentile)

Weaknesses

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2026-54250

GHSA ID

GHSA-jxr7-mqhw-9p98

Source code

Credits

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