Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XSummary
CVE-2026-32981 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Anyscale Ray. Its CVSS base score is 8.7 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 43% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; 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 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — 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-2026-32981 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in the Ray Dashboard, which listens on TCP port 8265 by default, affecting Ray versions prior to 2.8.1. The issue stems from improper validation and sanitization of user-supplied paths in the static file handling mechanism, allowing attackers to use traversal sequences such as "../" to access files outside the intended static directory. This results in local file disclosure, with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N), indicating high confidentiality impact.
Any unauthenticated attacker with network access to the Ray Dashboard can exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted requests containing path traversal payloads. Successful exploitation enables reading arbitrary files on the host system, potentially exposing sensitive configuration data, credentials, or other local resources served by the dashboard.
Mitigation involves upgrading to Ray version 2.8.1 or later, where the static file handling has been patched to properly sanitize paths. Official details are available in the Ray project repository at https://github.com/ray-project/ray, along with advisories from VulnCheck (https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/ray-dashboard-path-traversal-leading-to-local-file-disclosure) and PacketStorm (https://packetstorm.news/files/id/215801/).
Ray is an open-source framework for scaling AI and machine learning workloads, making this vulnerability particularly relevant for deployments in distributed computing environments where the dashboard may be exposed. No public evidence of real-world exploitation has been reported as of the CVE publication on 2026-03-17.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-12635
Vulnerability Data
A path traversal vulnerability was identified in Ray Dashboard (default port 8265) in Ray versions prior to 2.8.1. Due to improper validation and sanitization of user-supplied paths in the static file handling mechanism, an attacker can use traversal sequences (e.g.,…
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../) to access files outside the intended static directory, resulting in local file disclosure.
- 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
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
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.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
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 in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.