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High · 7.1 Public exploit CVE-2026-24046 EUVD-2026-4137GHSA-rq6q-wr2q-7pgp

Backstage has a Possible Symlink Path Traversal in Scaffolder Actions

Published Jan 21, 2026 · Updated Jul 15, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M

Description

Backstage is an open framework for building developer portals. Multiple Scaffolder actions and archive extraction utilities were vulnerable to symlink-based path traversal attacks. An attacker with access to create and execute Scaffolder templates could exploit symlinks to read arbitrary files via the `debug:log` action by creating a symlink pointing to sensitive files (e.g., `/etc/passwd`, configuration files, secrets); delete arbitrary files via the `fs:delete` action by creating symlinks pointing outside the workspace, and write files outside the workspace via archive extraction (tar/zip) containing malicious symlinks. This affects any Backstage deployment where users can create or execute Scaffolder templates. This vulnerability is fixed in `@backstage/backend-defaults` versions 0.12.2, 0.13.2, 0.14.1, and 0.15.0; `@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend` versions 2.2.2, 3.0.2, and 3.1.1; and `@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-node` versions 0.11.2 and 0.12.3. Users should upgrade to these versions or later. Some workarounds are available. Follow the recommendation in the Backstage Threat Model to limit access to creating and updating templates, restrict who can create and execute Scaffolder templates using the permissions framework, audit existing templates for symlink usage, and/or run Backstage in a containerized environment with limited filesystem access.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
backstage backstage @backstage/backend-defaults < 0.12.2, @backstage/backend-defaults >= 0.13.0, < 0.13.2, @backstage/backend-defaults >= 0.14.0, < 0.14.1, @backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend < 2.2.2, @backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend >= 3.0.0, < 3.0.2, @backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend >= 3.1.0, < 3.1.1, @back… —

Public exploits

Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.

Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.

GitHub 1 repository

Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.

Affected packages

References