CVE-2026-50549
Cursor Desktop sandbox escape via symlink and failed path canonicalization
No known exploitation. EPSS puts it in the 63rd percentile. Fixed in 3.0.
What to do
Find your product and version, then upgrade to the build on the right.
- CursorAffected: < 3.0Upgrade to: not statedStated by: CVE record
- Anysphere CursorAffected: < 3.0Upgrade to: 3.0Stated by: NVD
Versions as the sources state them. Full version matrix after sign-in
Coverage timeline
2 publishersTechnical analysis published
Vendor patch released
Sourced from public security reporting — each date is when it was published, not when it happened. 1 further article named this CVE in wider roundups without reporting it as a distinct event.
What it is
From the CVE record
Cursor is a code editor built for programming with AI. Prior to 3.0, Cursor runs agent terminal commands in a sandbox by default. Before a Write, the agent canonicalizes the target path to confirm it stays inside the workspace, but when canonicalization fails it falls back to the original path and writes without approval. A malicious agent can create an in-workspace symlink that points outside the workspace and force canonicalization to fail — either because the target does not exist or because read permission is removed from the path — so the agent writes through the symlink to an arbitrary location without approval. A malicious agent could write arbitrary files outside the workspace under the user's privileges. This enables non-sandboxed Remote Code Execution — for example by overwriting the cursorsandbox helper so later commands run unsandboxed — with no user interaction beyond a benign prompt. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.0.
In plain language
No plain-language summary for this CVE yet.
Exploitation
Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.
- CISA KEV
Not in the catalog. CISA has not confirmed exploitation.
- Public exploits
No public exploit or proof of concept found in the sources we track.
- EPSS
1.0% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 63rd percentile of scored CVEs.
Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.
Lifecycle
5 events over 1 day, from the signal feeds we watch.
- Patch availablerecord updated
- Publishedweakness classified, att&ck mapped
Affected products
Technical detail
CVSS 3.1 vector
Open in the CVSS calculatorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Scored 9.8 by NVD.
How it is reached
- Attack Vector NetworkExploitable remotely over the network without any special conditions
- Attack Complexity LowNo special conditions — the attack can be reliably reproduced
- Privileges Required NoneNo authentication required — anyone can exploit this
- User Interaction NoneNo user interaction needed — fully automated exploitation
Scope
- Scope UnchangedImpact is limited to the vulnerable component itself
Impact if exploited
- Confidentiality HighTotal information disclosure — all data in the component is compromised
- Integrity HighTotal loss of integrity — attacker can modify any data in the component
- Availability HighTotal denial of service — the component is completely unavailable
Weaknesses
ATT&CK techniques
Mapped from the weaknesses above (CWE to ATT&CK), not observed in attacks.
Sources
References in the record
In the news
- GhostApproval Symlink Flaws Could Let Malicious Repos Run Code in AI Coding Agents
- ⚡ Weekly Recap: Proxy Botnets, Browser Ransomware, AI Agent Tricks, Fake PoC Malware and More
- Critical Cursor AI Code Editor Flaws Could Lead to OS-Level Remote Code Execution
- Critical Cursor Flaws Could Let Prompt Injection Escape Sandbox and Run Commands
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