Apktool is a tool for reverse engineering Android APK files. In versions 3.0.0 and 3.0.1, a path traversal vulnerability in `brut/androlib/res/decoder/ResFileDecoder.java` allows a maliciously crafted APK to write arbitrary files to the filesystem during standard decoding (`apktool d`). This is a security regression introduced in commit e10a045 (PR #4041, December 12, 2025), which removed the `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` call that previously prevented path traversal in resource file output paths. An attacker can embed `../` sequences in the `resources.arsc` Type String Pool to escape the output directory and write files to arbitrary locations, including `~/.ssh/config`, `~/.bashrc`, or Windows Startup folders, escalating to RCE. The fix in version 3.0.2 re-introduces `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` in `ResFileDecoder.java` before file write operations.

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied patch available.

  - Apktool is a tool for reverse engineering Android APK files. In versions 3.0.0 and 3.0.1, a path traversal     vulnerability in `brut/androlib/res/decoder/ResFileDecoder.java` allows a maliciously crafted APK to write     arbitrary files to the filesystem during standard decoding (`apktool d`). This is a security regression     introduced in commit e10a045 (PR #4041, December 12, 2025), which removed the `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` call     that previously prevented path traversal in resource file output paths. An attacker can embed `../`     sequences in the `resources.arsc` Type String Pool to escape the output directory and write files to     arbitrary locations, including `~/.ssh/config`, `~/.bashrc`, or Windows Startup folders, escalating to     RCE. The fix in version 3.0.2 re-introduces `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` in `ResFileDecoder.java` before file     write operations. (CVE-2026-39973)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.

There are packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability referenced in the following CVE:

  - Apktool is a tool for reverse engineering Android APK files. In versions 3.0.0 and 3.0.1, a path traversal
    vulnerability in `brut/androlib/res/decoder/ResFileDecoder.java` allows a maliciously crafted APK to write
    arbitrary files to the filesystem during standard decoding (`apktool d`). This is a security regression
    introduced in commit e10a045 (PR #4041, December 12, 2025), which removed the `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` call
    that previously prevented path traversal in resource file output paths. An attacker can embed `../`
    sequences in the `resources.arsc` Type String Pool to escape the output directory and write files to
    arbitrary locations, including `~/.ssh/config`, `~/.bashrc`, or Windows Startup folders, escalating to
    RCE. The fix in version 3.0.2 re-introduces `BrutIO.sanitizePath()` in `ResFileDecoder.java` before file
    write operations. (CVE-2026-39973)

ID	Name	Product	Family	Severity
310810	Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-39973	Nessus	Misc.	high
440789	SCA: security update for org.apktool:apktool-lib (GHSA-m8mh-x359-vm8m)	Tenable Cloud Security	SCA Checks	high
440789	SCA: security update for org.apktool:apktool-lib (GHSA-m8mh-x359-vm8m)	Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security	SCA Checks	high

Detections

Analytics

CVE-2026-39973

high

Tenable Plugins

high

high

high