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OpenAdvisories
Medium · 6.0 CVE-2026-70603 EUVD-2026-53436GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx

Electron: shell.openPath path validation bypass via embedded null byte

Published Aug 5, 2026 · Updated Nov 3, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M

Description

Electron is a framework for writing cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Prior to 39.8.6, 40.9.0, 41.1.1, and 42.0.0-beta.1, shell.openPath() did not reject paths containing embedded null bytes. Apps that perform string-only validation of file paths, for example checking the file extension, before passing them to shell.openPath() could be bypassed, allowing an attacker-controlled path to open a different file than the one that passed validation. Apps are only affected if they pass paths derived from untrusted input to shell.openPath() and rely on string-based validation without a filesystem check. This issue is fixed in versions 39.8.6, 40.9.0, 41.1.1, and 42.0.0-beta.1.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
electron electron < 39.8.6, >= 40.0.0-alpha.1, < 40.9.0, >= 41.0.0-alpha.1, < 41.1.1, >= 42.0.0-alpha.1, < 42.0.0-beta.1 —

Affected packages

EcosystemPackageAffectedFixedRecord
npm electron >= 42.0.0-alpha.1, < 42.0.0-beta.1 42.0.0-beta.1 GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx
npm electron >= 41.0.0-alpha.1, < 41.1.1 41.1.1 GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx
npm electron >= 40.0.0-alpha.1, < 40.9.0 40.9.0 GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx
npm electron < 39.8.6 39.8.6 GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx

References