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CVE-2026-23986VulnerabilityPublished

CVE-2026-23986: copier · UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following

Affects copierSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.9 Medium : upgrade to 9.11.2 when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score
6.9Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 18% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 9.11.2
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 21 Jan 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

What to do

Upgrade copier to 9.11.2.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
copier-orgcopierAffected
  • <9.11.2
Fixed in
  • 9.11.2
PyPIcopierpkg:pypi/copierOther threatsAffected
  • <9.11.2
Fixed in
  • 9.11.2

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

European organizations should immediately upgrade copier to version 9.11.2 or later to apply the official patch. Until upgraded, avoid using templates from untrusted sources, especially those that enable the _preserve_symlinks option. Implement strict code review and validation processes for project templates before use. Employ file system monitoring to detect unexpected file modifications outside designated directories. Use containerized or sandboxed environments for running copier commands to limit potential damage from file overwrites. Educate developers and DevOps teams about the risks of using unsafe templates and the importance of verifying template provenance. Integrate automated scanning tools to detect symlink traversal or directory escape patterns in templates. Finally, maintain regular backups of critical configuration and source files to enable recovery in case of exploitation.

Description

CVE-2026-23986 is a medium-severity vulnerability in copier versions prior to 9.11.2 that allows a malicious project template to overwrite arbitrary files outside the intended destination directory by exploiting symbolic link following combined with the _preserve_symlinks: true setting. This occurs without requiring privileges or authentication but does require user interaction to generate a project from a crafted template. The vulnerability enables attackers to cause data corruption or disruption by overwriting files according to the user's write permissions. The issue is patched in version 9.11.2. European organizations using copier for project templating should update promptly to mitigate risk. The vulnerability primarily affects UNIX-like systems where symbolic links are supported and copier is used.

References

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