High severity · published May 8, 2026
CVE-2026-41693
i18next-fs-backend: Path traversal via unsanitised lng/ns allows arbitrary file read/overwrite
8.2
CVSS
0.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
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.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
Low
Availability
None
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.3% · higher than 22% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
I1
i18next-fs-backend · i18next
< 2.6.4 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-41693
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-41693
github.com
https://github.com/i18next/i18next-fs-backend/security/advisories/GHSA-8847-338w-5hcj
More from i18next-fs-backend
9.1
CVE-2026-48713
i18next-fs-backend: Prototype pollution via crafted missing-key string
