Apktool is a tool for reverse engineering Android APK files. In versions 3.0.0 and 3.0.1, a path traversal vulnerability in `brut/androlib/res/decoder/ResFileDecoder.java` allows a maliciously crafted APK to write arbitrary files to the filesystem during standard decoding (`apktool d`). This is a security regression introduced in commit e10a045 (PR #4041, December 12, 2025), which removed the `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` call that previously prevented path traversal in resource file output paths. An attacker can embed `../` sequences in the `resources.arsc` Type String Pool to escape the output directory and write files to arbitrary locations, including `~/.ssh/config`, `~/.bashrc`, or Windows Startup folders, escalating to RCE. The fix in version 3.0.2 re-introduces `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` in `ResFileDecoder.java` before file write operations.
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Tue, 21 Apr 2026 01:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
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| Description | Apktool is a tool for reverse engineering Android APK files. In versions 3.0.0 and 3.0.1, a path traversal vulnerability in `brut/androlib/res/decoder/ResFileDecoder.java` allows a maliciously crafted APK to write arbitrary files to the filesystem during standard decoding (`apktool d`). This is a security regression introduced in commit e10a045 (PR #4041, December 12, 2025), which removed the `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` call that previously prevented path traversal in resource file output paths. An attacker can embed `../` sequences in the `resources.arsc` Type String Pool to escape the output directory and write files to arbitrary locations, including `~/.ssh/config`, `~/.bashrc`, or Windows Startup folders, escalating to RCE. The fix in version 3.0.2 re-introduces `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` in `ResFileDecoder.java` before file write operations. | |
| Title | Apktool: Path Traversal to Arbitrary File Write | |
| Weaknesses | CWE-22 | |
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cvssV3_1
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Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: GitHub_M
Published:
Updated: 2026-04-21T01:35:22.396Z
Reserved: 2026-04-08T00:01:47.627Z
Link: CVE-2026-39973
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Status : Received
Published: 2026-04-21T02:16:07.903
Modified: 2026-04-21T02:16:07.903
Link: CVE-2026-39973
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Weaknesses