Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Cornac before 2.6.0 can unpack a malicious TAR archive outside its intended cache directory. In affected automated dataset-loading workflows, this could let an attacker overwrite files the process can access, creating integrity and availability risk for ML systems.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for production or shared ML systems that automatically fetch datasets. The CVSS 9.1 rating reflects high potential file integrity and availability impact, even though active exploitation is not evidenced here.
Technical view
The issue is a CWE-22 path traversal in cornac/utils/download.py _extract_archive(). Built-in dataset loaders may automatically download and extract archives, and unsafe extraction can write outside the cache directory through crafted archive paths or link entries.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in Python environments using PreferredAI Cornac before 2.6.0, especially ML pipelines or notebooks that use built-in dataset loaders or process archives from external sources.
Exploitation context
The source bundle reports no KEV listing and provides no evidence of active exploitation. The attack path depends on a vulnerable Cornac workflow extracting attacker-controlled or compromised dataset archives.
Researcher notes
Focus validation on data-loading paths rather than general Cornac usage. Evidence names _extract_archive(), automatic dataset loaders, unsafe extractall() behavior, and the 2.6.0 patch. No exploit status beyond the provided sources is established.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Cornac to version 2.6.0 or later.
- Review the v2.6.0 release notes and patch commit.
- Avoid untrusted dataset archives until upgraded.
- Restrict filesystem permissions for ML jobs using Cornac.
- Check vendor guidance for any additional remediation details.
Validation and detection
- Inventory environments for installed Cornac versions below 2.6.0.
- Identify workflows using Cornac built-in dataset loaders.
- Confirm archives are sourced only from trusted locations.
- Verify upgraded environments run Cornac 2.6.0 or later.
- Review cache and working directory permissions for affected jobs.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-43637 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H3.95.2VulnCheckCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.1CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- Release NotesCVE reference, VulnCheck · release-notes
- Pull RequestCVE reference, VulnCheck · issue-tracking
- Patch CommitCVE reference, VulnCheck · patch
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/cornac-path-traversal-via-extract-archive-in-download-pyCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.