Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-28286 is a high-severity External Control of File Name or Path (CWE-73) vulnerability in Zimaspace Zimaos. Its CVSS base score is 8.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 34th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — 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-2026-28286 is a path validation vulnerability in ZimaOS version 1.5.2-beta3, a fork of CasaOS designed as an operating system for Zima devices and x86-64 systems with UEFI. The frontend UI enforces restrictions to prevent users from creating files or folders in internal OS paths, but the backend API lacks proper validation of target paths. This allows attackers to bypass restrictions by sending crafted requests that target sensitive system directories such as /etc or /usr, enabling unauthorized file or directory creation in locations inaccessible to normal users. The vulnerability is rated 8.5 on the CVSS 3.1 scale (AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) and maps to CWE-73 (External Control of File Name or Path).
A low-privileged authenticated user (PR:L) can exploit this over the network (AV:N) with high attack complexity (AC:H) and no user interaction (UI:N), achieving scope change (S:C) for high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts (C:I:A:H). By crafting API requests to specify restricted paths, the attacker can write files or create directories in critical system areas, potentially leading to privilege escalation, persistence, or full system compromise depending on the content written.
The GitHub Security Advisory at https://github.com/IceWhaleTech/ZimaOS/security/advisories/GHSA-65mg-9gw5-vr7g details the issue, confirming the API bypass in version 1.5.2-beta3. No patch is publicly available, so practitioners should restrict API access, monitor for anomalous file creations in sensitive directories, and consider isolating ZimaOS instances until a fix is released.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-9206
Vulnerability Data
ZimaOS is a fork of CasaOS, an operating system for Zima devices and x86-64 systems with UEFI. In version 1.5.2-beta3, the application enforces restrictions in the frontend/UI to prevent users from creating files or folders in internal OS paths. However,…
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when interacting directly with the API, the restrictions are bypass-able. By sending a crafted request targeting paths like /etc, /usr, or other sensitive system directories, the API successfully creates files or directories in locations where normal users should have no write access. This indicates that the API does not properly validate the target path, allowing unauthorized operations on critical system directories. No known patch is publicly available.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Input validation directly rejects or sanitizes untrusted path strings before they reach filesystem operations.
Enforces authorization checks on the actual resource accessed, blocking unauthorized files even when a malicious path is supplied.
Least-privilege limits the set of files or directories any subject can affect, shrinking the blast radius of a path-control flaw.
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.
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 path-traversal issues but does not itself implement preventive controls.
Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and path-handling controls that directly prevent external file/path manipulation.
Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against untrusted input influencing file operations.
Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe path construction but do not prescribe concrete file-name controls.
Secure coding standards require canonicalization, allow-listing, and bounds checks on file paths, directly eliminating CWE-73.
Information access restriction limits which files can be reached, indirectly reducing impact of path manipulation.