CVE-2026-27967
Zed ≤ 0.225.9
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:NSummary
CVE-2026-27967 is a high-severity Link Following (CWE-59) vulnerability in Zed Zed. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 16th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
This vulnerability is AI-related — categorised as Enterprise AI Assistants; in the Privacy and Disclosure risk domain.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-27967 is a symlink escape vulnerability in Zed, a code editor, affecting versions prior to 0.225.9. The flaw exists in the Agent file tools, specifically `read_file` and `edit_file`, which permit reading and writing files outside the project directory when a project includes symbolic links pointing to external paths. This circumvents Zed's intended workspace boundary and privacy protections, including `file_scan_exclusions` and `private_files`, with potential for leaking sensitive user data to the LLM. The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 7.1 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N) and maps to CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access.
A local attacker with no privileges can exploit this by crafting a project containing symbolic links to external paths and tricking a user into opening it, requiring user interaction such as invoking the Agent tools. Successful exploitation enables high confidentiality and integrity impacts, allowing arbitrary file reads or writes outside the workspace boundaries and bypassing privacy controls, which could result in sensitive data exfiltration to an LLM.
The official Zed security advisory (GHSA-786m-x2vc-5235 at https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/security/advisories/GHSA-786m-x2vc-5235) documents the issue, with version 0.225.9 released as the fix. Security practitioners should advise users to upgrade to Zed 0.225.9 or later to mitigate the vulnerability.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-8777
Vulnerability Data
Zed, a code editor, has a symlink escape vulnerability in versions prior to 0.225.9 in Agent file tools (`read_file`, `edit_file`). It allows reading and writing files **outside the project directory** when a project contains symbolic links pointing to external paths.…
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This bypasses the intended workspace boundary and privacy protections (`file_scan_exclusions`, `private_files`), potentially leaking sensitive user data to the LLM. Version 0.225.9 fixes the issue.
- CWE(s)
AI Security AnalysisAI
- AI Category
- Enterprise AI Assistants
- Risk Domain
- Privacy and Disclosure
- OWASP Top 10 for LLMs 2025
- None mapped
- Classification Reason
- Matched keywords: llm
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V15.4.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Proper enforcement of access authorizations on the resolved target resource stops a link from reaching an unintended object.
Least-privilege limits the damage an attacker can cause after following an unintended link.
Validating file-name inputs can reject or canonicalize names that resolve to links before access occurs.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly require code to validate paths and avoid unsafe link following.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing can detect link-following flaws before release.
Secure SDLC practices can mandate link-resolution checks and canonicalization before file access.
Application security requirements can explicitly require safe handling of symbolic links and path traversal.
Secure architecture principles include input validation and safe file-access design patterns.
Secure coding standards directly address canonicalization and symlink attacks during implementation.
Access-control rules can limit which files are reachable, reducing exposure to malicious links.