Weblate: Prefix-Based Repository Boundary Check Bypass via Symlink/Junction Path Prefix Collision
### Impact Weblate repository-boundary validation relies on string prefix checks on resolved absolute paths. In multiple code paths, the check uses startswith against the repository root path. This is not path-segment aware and can be bypassed when the external path shares the same string prefix as the repository path (for example, repo and repo_outside). ### Patches * https://github.com/WeblateOrg/weblate/pull/18847 ### References Thanks to [m9nx4u](https://hackerone.com/m9nx4u) for reporting this issue via HackerOne.
describes (1)
Related CVEs.
| ID | severity | exploitable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-40256US | — | — | ||
Weblate is a web based localization tool. In versions prior to 5.17, repository-boundary validation relies on string prefix checks on resolved absolute paths. In multiple code path… | ||||
references
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://github.com/WeblateOrg/weblatePACKAGE
- https://github.com/WeblateOrg/weblate/commit/e30dbcb33ae78e754ecef192d54f996b89cb4e15WEB
- https://github.com/WeblateOrg/weblate/pull/18847WEB
- https://github.com/WeblateOrg/weblate/security/advisories/GHSA-ffgh-3jrf-8wvhWEB
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-40256ADVISORY
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