CVE-2026-41693 HIGH

CVE-2026-41693: i18next-fs-backend: Path traversal via unsanitised lng/ns allows arbitrary file read/overwrite

Vendor I18Next
Product i18next-fs-backend
Weakness CWE-73
Published May 8, 2026
Last update May 13, 2026

CVSS base score

8.2/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality High
Integrity Low

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N

What the vulnerability does

01Description

i18next-fs-backend is a backend layer for i18next using in Node.js and for Deno to load translations from the filesystem. Prior to version 2.6.4, i18next-fs-backend substitutes the lng and ns options directly into the configured loadPath / addPath templates and then read / write the resulting file from disk. The interpolation is unencoded and unvalidated, so a crafted lng or ns value — containing .., a path separator, a control character, a prototype key, or simply an unexpectedly long string — allows an attacker who can influence either value to read or overwrite files outside the intended locale directory. When lng / ns are derived from untrusted input (request-scoped i18next instances behind an HTTP layer such as i18next-http-middleware, or any framework that lets the end user pick the language via query string, cookie, or header), a single request such as ?lng=../../../../etc/passwd causes the backend to attempt to read that path. This issue has been patched in version 2.6.4.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

May 8, 2026 CVE published
May 13, 2026 Record updated