Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-39859

Path Traversal in Liquidjs ≤ 10.25.3

Published
08 April 2026
Modified
24 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 6.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/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:X
EPSS Score 0.0045 37th percentile
Risk Priority 40 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2026-39859 is a medium-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Liquidjs Liquidjs. Its CVSS base score is 6.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 37th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

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-2026-39859 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in LiquidJS, a pure JavaScript template engine compatible with Shopify and GitHub Pages. The issue affects versions prior to 10.25.3, where the documented root directory constraint for filenames passed to renderFile() and parseFile() is not enforced during top-level file loads. This allows an attacker to bypass the root boundary when a Liquid instance is configured with an empty temporary directory as root, enabling the disclosure of arbitrary file contents on the server.

The vulnerability has 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 it is exploitable remotely with low complexity and no privileges or user interaction required. An unauthenticated attacker who can influence file paths processed by a vulnerable LiquidJS instance—such as through user-supplied templates or inputs in a web application—can achieve arbitrary file read access, potentially exposing sensitive data like configuration files, source code, or credentials.

The GitHub security advisory (GHSA-v273-448j-v4qj) confirms the vulnerability and states it is fixed in LiquidJS version 10.25.3, recommending immediate upgrades for all affected installations. No workarounds are detailed beyond ensuring proper root directory configuration and validating inputs, with practitioners advised to review deployments using LiquidJS in server-side rendering contexts.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

LiquidJS is a Shopify / GitHub Pages compatible template engine in pure JavaScript. Prior to 10.25.3, liquidjs 10.25.0 documents root as constraining filenames passed to renderFile() and parseFile(), but top-level file loads do not enforce that boundary. A Liquid instance…

more

configured with an empty temporary directory as root can return the contents of arbitrary files. This vulnerability is fixed in 10.25.3.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-30952Same product: Liquidjs Liquidjs
CVE-2025-59304Shared CWE-22
CVE-2025-7694Shared CWE-22
CVE-2026-12198Shared CWE-22
CVE-2024-25154Shared CWE-22
CVE-2026-29050Shared CWE-22
CVE-2024-49082Shared CWE-22
CVE-2024-12362Shared CWE-22
CVE-2025-69377Shared CWE-22
CVE-2023-38951Shared CWE-22

Affected Assets

liquidjs
liquidjs
≤ 10.25.3

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • 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.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

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 none match
prevents

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.

finds

Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.

References