`CVE-2026-78254` Apache Ant

Affected software	Apache Ant
Severity	7.4 High CVSS 3.1
Weakness	Relative path traversal (CWE-23)
Published	7 Sep 2026
Updated	21 Oct 2026

Published 2 months ago. NVD often adds the list of affected products days or weeks after a CVE is published, and the other sources we check lag too. The scope and status here may change.

Description

The ftp and scp tasks of Apache Ant can download files from a remote server. A malicious server can provide relative paths that allow it to write outside of the dedicated target directory for the download, making it possible to overwrite files of the attacker's choice using the permissions of the user running Ant in versions prior to Ant 1.10.18. In order to exploit this vulnerability, the server would either have to be malicious or be subject to a machine-in-the-middle attack. Additionally in the case of scp or the ftp task using ftps the server must pass the server identity checks performed by the tasks. For ftp tasks not using ftps a malicious server could act as a machine-in-the-middle to provide malicious files. Starting with Ant 1.10.18 both tasks will prevent writing outside of the destination directory by default. An option is available to disable this behavior in the unlikely case that the old behavior is required by existing build files. Mitigations: Users of scp and ftp (when using ftps) in any version of Ant should not bypass server identity checks. Users of ftp not using ftps should switch to ftps where possible. All users are recommended to upgrade to Apache Ant 1.10.18, which fixes this issue.

Exploitation status

No public exploit

No exploit has been reported in the sources we check.

CISA KEV not listed
VulnCheck KEV not listed
CISA Vulnrichment exploitation: none
Indexed PoC none indexed
EPSS 0.52% chance in 30 days

Waratek protection

No exploit published

Within Waratek scope. In the sources we check, nobody has published exploit code for this CVE or reported it being exploited.

A public code fix exists.

Protection none
Action feasible
Review automated AI triage
Record active

Decided by	A researcher's recorded decision for this specific CVE
Finding	An AI triage run set this CVE's status to No exploit published.

Decided by

A researcher's recorded decision for this specific CVE

Finding

An AI triage run set this CVE's status to No exploit published.

Waratek research note

written 2026-11-13

Written by a Waratek engineer who reviewed this CVE. Their decision sets the status above, ahead of every automated rule except a withdrawal.

Comments

Path traversal in the Ant ftp/scp download tasks (FTP.getFile, ScpFromMessage, ScpFromMessageBySftp): file names sent by the server escape the download folder. The Path Traversal rule never checks these names. A filesystem write rule only protects the folders it lists, so a malicious server can still overwrite any other file the build account can write.

Affected software and releases

Oracle advisories

Advisory	Type	Quarter	Products Oracle names in its risk matrix
Oracle Critical Patch Update October 2026 ↗	CPU	2026-Q4	Oracle Construction and Engineering / Platform (Apache Ant) (21.12.0-21.12.17, 22.12.0-22.12.15, 23.12.0-23.12.16, 24.12.0-24.12.16, 25.12.0-25.12.9)

Advisory

Type

Quarter

Products Oracle names in its risk matrix

Oracle Critical Patch Update October 2026 ↗

CPU

2026-Q4

Oracle Construction and Engineering / Platform (Apache Ant) (21.12.0-21.12.17, 22.12.0-22.12.15, 23.12.0-23.12.16, 24.12.0-24.12.16, 25.12.0-25.12.9)

Oracle components and versions

Family	Component	Versions, as Oracle lists them	Read as
Oracle Construction and Engineering	Platform (Apache Ant)	21.12.0-21.12.17, 22.12.0-22.12.15, 23.12.0-23.12.16, 24.12.0-24.12.16, 25.12.0-25.12.9

Family

Component

Versions, as Oracle lists them

Read as

Oracle Construction and Engineering

Platform (Apache Ant)

21.12.0-21.12.17, 22.12.0-22.12.15, 23.12.0-23.12.16, 24.12.0-24.12.16, 25.12.0-25.12.9

Products and versions

1 product, 1 version entry

Source	Vendor	Product	Scheme	Affected versions
nvd	apache	ant	generic	＜ 1.10.18

Source

Vendor

Product

Scheme

Affected versions

nvd

apache

ant

generic

＜ 1.10.18

References

URL	Tags
https://lists.apache.org/thread/05s46qrlbhd06c6rsgvxh8zo0l4p9scz	Mailing List, Vendor Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/06/2	Mailing List, Third Party Advisory

URL

Timeline

Published	2026-09-07	By the CVE Program.
NVD record modified	2026-09-09	NVD's own last-modified date for this record.
Last VRT activity	2026-10-21	Most recent commit touching this CVE's classification, patch or rule file.
Classification created	2026-11-13	First commit adding this CVE's research note.

Published

2026-09-07

By the CVE Program.

NVD record modified

2026-09-09

NVD's own last-modified date for this record.

Last VRT activity

2026-10-21

Most recent commit touching this CVE's classification, patch or rule file.

Classification created

2026-11-13

First commit adding this CVE's research note.

How VRT decided (4 of 24 rules ran)

4 of 24 rules ran. The rest didn't run because an earlier rule had already settled the CVE.

# Rule Outcome Status Detail

identity: Does this identifier describe a vulnerability at all? the first rule that matches decides

1 rejected no match CVE Program withdrawal of this identifier

scope: Is it a vulnerability Waratek protects? the first rule that matches decides

2 armr-patch-file no match An ARMR patch file on disk for this CVE

3 armr-secure-rule-file no match An ARMR security-rule template on disk for this CVE

4 manual-classification decided it matched No exploit published An AI triage run set this CVE's status to No exploit published.

5 manual classification not reached Manual classification of this CVE in the legacy dataset

6 non-java-upstream not reached A root cause in non-Java code: an OS kernel, a C library, or a bundled runtime

7 oracle-component not reached The defect being in a component of a tracked product the agent does not reach: JavaFX, the Java SE installer, the JInitiator browser plug-in, the native WebLogic proxy plug-in, or a native part of Oracle Application Server or Collaboration Suite (HTTP Server, Web Cache, Internet Directory, mail and calendar servers). Oracle gives these no CPE of their own and names them only in the description.

8 java-client-side not reached Oracle's own risk-matrix note saying the CVE is reached only through untrusted code in the Java sandbox (applets, Web Start) or only through a client installation of Java, so a server running its own trusted code is not exposed

9 osv-maven not reached An OSV.dev record of this CVE affecting a package published to Maven Central. When every such package is one business applications do not use (Minecraft mods and launchers, Fastjson) and no tracked product is named by CPE, it settles the CVE as Outside Waratek scope instead

10 cna-maven-package not reached An affected Maven artifact named by the CNA itself

11 known-cpe-product not reached An NVD CPE naming a product ARMR tracks

12 cna-cpe-product not reached A CPE the CNA published naming a tracked product. Oracle publishes these on advisory day, months before NVD.

13 oracle-advisory-family not reached A tracked product family named in Oracle's own risk matrix. CPE cannot carry a suite name, only a module.

14 cna-named-product not reached A tracked product named in words by the CVE's own CNA, on a record with no CPE yet. Apache and Eclipse publish these on advisory day, before NVD adds CPE data.

15 non-deployable-product not reached The only affected product being a sealed appliance image, where Java runs but no -javaagent can be attached

16 unmatched-product not reached No tracked product matched above, and none present at all

disposition: What do we do about one that is? every rule runs

17 patch-hint not reached A reference pointing at the upstream fix: a commit, a PR, a Red Hat bug

18 open-source-maven not reached The affected package being open source on Maven, so the fix can be read

19 poc-derivable not reached An indexed exploit clearing the evidence bar to reverse-engineer, where there is no source to read

20 no-exploit not reached Nothing to build a rule from yet: no published exploit, no CISA record of exploitation and no source-level change to read

21 secure-rule-match not reached A vulnerability class already blocked by an ARMR security rule

22 exploited-no-fix-or-poc not reached Somebody exploiting this CVE (a CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, or a CISA verdict of active exploitation), with no fix, source code or PoC to build a rule from

23 below-action-threshold not reached Medium or Low severity, no CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, no PoC clearing the evidence bar, no CISA verdict, no Oracle advisory

24 no-exploit-published not reached Exploit code for this candidate, published in a reviewed catalogue or a GitHub repository with 5 or more stars, or in use per CISA or VulnCheck; not only a CISA verdict, a forecast, or nothing at all

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