Description
broot renders each file and directory name in its interactive tree view exactly as read from the filesystem. Names are converted with a plain to_string_lossy() call in src/tree_build/builder.rs and in TreeLine::unprune in src/tree/tree_line.rs, and no control-character filtering exists anywhere in the code, even though the doc comment on the TreeLine name field states that some characters may have been stripped. Any local user who can create a file can therefore place an escape sequence in its name and have it written unmodified to the terminal of anyone who browses that directory, between broot's own styling codes. A reported proof of concept used an OSC 52 clipboard-write sequence and captured the raw bytes broot wrote to its pty, confirming the sequence reaches the terminal unstripped. What an injected OSC or CSI sequence can then do depends on the terminal emulator in use. Browsing a directory is broot's primary function and carries no expectation that the content is trusted.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canop | broot | ≤ 1.58.0 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | rust-broot | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 13 | rust-broot | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | rust-broot | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | rust-broot | No fix yet | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | broot | 1.59.0-bp160.1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:21675-1 |
Advisories 1
- openSUSE-SU-2026:21675-1 Security update for broot SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 30, 2026
References
- GitHub Issue #1188 issue-tracking
- Strip terminal escape sequences from displayed file/directory names (#1189) patch
- improve esc stripping, apply it to link targets too patch
- Unsanitized name handling in TreeLine at v1.58.0 technical-description
- Unsanitized name construction in the tree builder at v1.58.0 technical-description
- https://github.com/Canop/broot product
- VulnCheck Advisory: broot Terminal Escape Sequence Injection via Unsanitized File and Directory Names in the Tree View third-party-advisory