CVE-2026-65092: NVIDIA OpenShell Path Traversal Vulnerability

CVE-2026-65092 Overview

CVE-2026-65092 is a path traversal vulnerability in NVIDIA OpenShell Sandbox for Linux. An authenticated attacker can craft requests that bypass the Layer 7 (L7) REST network policy enforcement. Successful exploitation may lead to information disclosure and data tampering across the sandboxed environment.

The flaw is classified under CWE-22, Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory. Exploitation occurs over the network with low attack complexity and does not require user interaction. The scope change indicates that a compromise can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component's security boundary.

Critical Impact
An authenticated network attacker can bypass L7 REST network policy enforcement, reaching restricted endpoints to disclose sensitive data and tamper with sandboxed resources.

Affected Products

NVIDIA OpenShell Sandbox for Linux
Specific affected versions: refer to the NVIDIA product security advisory
No additional affected product data published in NVD at time of writing

Discovery Timeline

2026-08-25 - CVE-2026-65092 published to NVD
2026-08-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-65092

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in how NVIDIA OpenShell Sandbox for Linux normalizes and validates request paths before applying Layer 7 REST network policy rules. An attacker with low privileges can submit crafted URIs containing traversal sequences that evade the policy matcher while still resolving to protected backend routes.

Because the policy enforcement operates on the pre-normalized path, the sandbox forwards requests to endpoints that the policy was intended to block. This mismatch between the enforcement view and the resolved view of the request path enables the bypass.

The result is unauthorized read access to REST resources and the ability to modify data through endpoints that should be restricted. The attack proceeds over the network without user interaction and crosses a security scope boundary.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory. Path normalization occurs after policy evaluation, allowing traversal sequences to defeat allow-list and deny-list decisions applied by the L7 REST filter.

Attack Vector

An authenticated attacker sends REST requests containing encoded or nested traversal segments to the sandbox's exposed HTTP interface. The L7 policy engine evaluates the raw path, permits the request, and downstream handlers resolve it to a protected route. No verified public proof-of-concept is available. See the NVIDIA product security update for technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-65092

Indicators of Compromise

REST request logs containing path traversal patterns such as %2e%2e%2f, ..;/, or double-encoded sequences targeting the sandbox API
Successful 2xx responses to endpoints that should be denied by the configured L7 REST policy
Unexpected access to configuration, secret, or administrative REST routes from low-privilege accounts

Detection Strategies

Compare pre-normalization and post-normalization paths in proxy logs and alert on divergence between policy decision and resolved handler
Baseline REST endpoint usage per authenticated principal and flag deviations toward restricted resource paths
Deploy signatures for common path-traversal encodings against the NVIDIA OpenShell Sandbox HTTP listener

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose access logging on the sandbox REST interface, including raw request URIs and post-routing resolution
Forward sandbox and reverse proxy logs to a centralized analytics platform for correlation with authentication events
Alert on modifications to sandbox configuration or policy objects performed outside change-control windows

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-65092

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the fixed release referenced in the NVIDIA product security advisory for bulletin 5872
Restrict network reachability of the OpenShell Sandbox REST interface to trusted management networks only
Rotate any credentials or tokens that traversed the sandbox during the exposure window and audit REST access logs

Patch Information

NVIDIA has published a security bulletin under identifier 5872. Consult the NVIDIA product-security repository for fixed versions and upgrade instructions. Additional record data is available at the NVD entry for CVE-2026-65092 and the CVE.org record.

Workarounds

Front the sandbox with a reverse proxy that performs strict path normalization and rejects requests containing traversal encodings before policy evaluation
Enforce network segmentation and mutual TLS on the REST interface to reduce the population of principals that can reach the endpoint
Tighten authentication requirements and remove standing low-privilege API tokens that are not actively used

bash

# Example NGINX front-end hardening: reject traversal encodings before proxying
location /openshell/ {
    if ($request_uri ~* "(\.\.|%2e%2e|%252e|\.\.;)") {
        return 400;
    }
    proxy_pass http://openshell_backend;
    proxy_set_header X-Original-URI $request_uri;
}