Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-28442 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 23th 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-2026-28442 is a high-severity vulnerability (CVSS 8.5) affecting 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 issue stems from improper input validation and broken access control (CWE-73) in the backend API handling filesystem delete operations. While the application interface restricts users from deleting internal system files or folders, these protections are bypassed when directly interacting with the API. Attackers can manipulate the path parameter in a delete request to target and remove restricted internal OS files and directories, as the backend fails to validate whether the path belongs to protected system locations.
Exploitation requires network access, low privileges (PR:L), and high attack complexity (AC:H), with no user interaction needed (UI:N) and a changed scope (S:C), enabling high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). A low-privileged authenticated user can send a crafted API delete request with an altered path to permanently delete critical system files, potentially leading to denial of service, data loss, or full system compromise depending on the targeted files.
The primary advisory, published via GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-q5hp-59wm-9xq3, details the vulnerability but notes no known public patch is available as of the CVE publication on 2026-03-05. Security practitioners should monitor the ZimaOS repository for updates, restrict API access to trusted low-privilege users, and implement network-level controls to limit exposure until a fix is released.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-9879
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, users are restricted from deleting internal system files or folders through the application interface. However, when interacting directly with the…
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API, these restrictions can be bypassed. By altering the path parameter in the delete request, internal OS files and directories can be removed successfully. The backend processes these manipulated requests without validating whether the targeted path belongs to restricted system locations. This demonstrates improper input validation and broken access control on sensitive filesystem operations. No known public patch is 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.