Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-40050

Path Traversal

Published
21 April 2026
Modified
22 April 2026
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0060 45th percentile
Risk Priority 72 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-40050 is a critical-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Crowdstrike (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 45th 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-14 (Permitted Actions Without Identification or Authentication) 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-2026-40050 is a critical unauthenticated path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22, CWE-306) in CrowdStrike LogScale, affecting specific versions hosted by customers. The issue resides in a cluster API endpoint that, when exposed, enables unauthorized access. It does not impact Next-Gen SIEM customers or require action from them.

A remote attacker with network access to the exposed endpoint can exploit this vulnerability without authentication, privileges, or user interaction, achieving high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts as scored at CVSS 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). Successful exploitation allows reading arbitrary files from the server filesystem.

CrowdStrike's advisory recommends immediate upgrades to patched versions for LogScale self-hosted customers. For LogScale SaaS customers, the vendor deployed network-layer blocks across all clusters on April 7, 2026, mitigating the issue. Details are available at https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/security-advisories/cve-2026-40050/.

CrowdStrike discovered the vulnerability through ongoing product testing and, after proactive log review, found no evidence of real-world exploitation. The CVE was published on April 21, 2026.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

CrowdStrike has released security updates to address a critical unauthenticated path traversal vulnerability (CVE-2026-40050) in LogScale. This vulnerability only requires mitigation by customers that host specific versions of LogScale and does not affect Next-Gen SIEM customers. The vulnerability exists in…

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a specific cluster API endpoint that, if exposed, allows a remote attacker to read arbitrary files from the server filesystem without authentication. Next-Gen SIEM customers are not affected and do not need to take any action. CrowdStrike mitigated the vulnerability for LogScale SaaS customers by deploying network-layer blocks to all clusters on April 7, 2026. We have proactively reviewed all log data and there is no evidence of exploitation. LogScale Self-hosted customers should upgrade to a patched version immediately to remediate the vulnerability. CrowdStrike identified this vulnerability during continuous and ongoing product testing.

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.
T1133 External Remote Services Persistence
Adversaries may leverage external-facing remote services to initially access and/or persist within a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-12003Shared CWE-22, CWE-306
CVE-2026-25116Shared CWE-22, CWE-306
CVE-2025-34120Shared CWE-22, CWE-306
CVE-2025-21623Shared CWE-22, CWE-306
CVE-2026-11429Shared CWE-22, CWE-306
CVE-2026-25895Shared CWE-22, CWE-306
CVE-2025-34028Shared CWE-22, CWE-306
CVE-2026-11420Shared CWE-22, CWE-306
CVE-2023-6368Shared CWE-306
CVE-2026-46781Shared CWE-306

Affected Assets

Crowdstrike
inferred from references and description; NVD did not file a CPE for this CVE

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 6 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2
  • V6.2.3
  • V6.4.4
  • V10.4.16

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Directly mandates unique identification and authentication of users before access to functions requiring identity.

Extends the same authentication requirement to non-organizational users accessing critical functionality.

Requires authentication of services before they can invoke or expose critical functions.

Explicitly identifies and limits actions permitted without authentication, preventing critical functions from being exposed.

Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.

Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction 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.

PR.AA-03 full match
prevents

Directly requires authentication of users/services/hardware, which eliminates missing authentication for critical functions.

PR.AA-01 partial match
prevents

Managing identities and credentials is a prerequisite for authentication but does not itself enforce it on critical functions.

PR.AA-05 partial match
prevents

Defining and enforcing authorizations assumes prior authentication and therefore only partially mitigates the absence of authentication.

PR.IR-01 partial match
prevents

Protecting networks from unauthorized access can be undermined by missing authentication but does not address the root authentication gap.

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.

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.

prevents

The control explicitly calls for authentication before any critical function is reached, eliminating the possibility of bypassing authentication for high-value operations.

finds

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

prevents

Mandating authentication requirements for critical functions at the requirements-gathering stage ensures that essential operations are not left unprotected by missing login or verification mechanisms.

mitigates

Mandating authentication for network services and critical functions stops attackers from invoking sensitive operations without credentials, closing gaps where authentication is absent for important capabilities.

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.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248585 OL 8 must require reauthentication when using the "sudo" command. prevents CWE-306
  • V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-306
RHEL 7 (2 rules)
  • V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-306
  • V-237635 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must require re-authentication when using the "sudo" command. prevents CWE-306
RHEL 8 (2 rules)
  • V-230492 RHEL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-306
  • V-237643 RHEL 8 must require re-authentication when using the "sudo" command. prevents CWE-306

References