The ftp and scp tasks of Apache Ant can download files from a remote server. A malicious server can provide relative paths that allow it to write outside of the dedicated target directory for the download, making it possible to overwrite files of the attacker's choice using the permissions of the user running Ant in versions prior to Ant 1.10.18. In order to exploit this vulnerability, the server would either have to be malicious or be subject to a machine-in-the-middle attack. Additionally in the case of scp or the ftp task using ftps the server must pass the server identity checks performed by the tasks. For ftp tasks not using ftps a malicious server could act as a machine-in-the-middle to provide malicious files. Starting with Ant 1.10.18 both tasks will prevent writing outside of the destination directory by default. An option is available to disable this behavior in the unlikely case that the old behavior is required by existing build files. Mitigations: Users of scp and ftp (when using ftps) in any version of Ant should not bypass server identity checks. Users of ftp not using ftps should switch to ftps where possible. All users are recommended to upgrade to Apache Ant 1.10.18, which fixes this issue.
History

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:apache:ant:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-22
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Important


Tue, 08 Sep 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Apache
Apache ant
Vendors & Products Apache
Apache ant

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.4, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N'}

ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description The ftp and scp tasks of Apache Ant can download files from a remote server. A malicious server can provide relative paths that allow it to write outside of the dedicated target directory for the download, making it possible to overwrite files of the attacker's choice using the permissions of the user running Ant in versions prior to Ant 1.10.18. In order to exploit this vulnerability, the server would either have to be malicious or be subject to a machine-in-the-middle attack. Additionally in the case of scp or the ftp task using ftps the server must pass the server identity checks performed by the tasks. For ftp tasks not using ftps a malicious server could act as a machine-in-the-middle to provide malicious files. Starting with Ant 1.10.18 both tasks will prevent writing outside of the destination directory by default. An option is available to disable this behavior in the unlikely case that the old behavior is required by existing build files. Mitigations: Users of scp and ftp (when using ftps) in any version of Ant should not bypass server identity checks. Users of ftp not using ftps should switch to ftps where possible. All users are recommended to upgrade to Apache Ant 1.10.18, which fixes this issue.
Title Apache Ant: Path traversal in ftp and scp tasks allows arbitrary file write
Weaknesses CWE-23
References

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: apache

Published: 2026-09-07T07:41:54.077Z

Updated: 2026-09-08T15:45:11.304Z

Reserved: 2026-08-24T07:17:27.205Z

Link: CVE-2026-78254

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-09-07T08:16:01.151Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-09-07T08:17:12.943

Modified: 2026-09-09T13:29:39.243

Link: CVE-2026-78254

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-09-07T07:41:54Z

Links: CVE-2026-78254 - Bugzilla