{"id":"CVE-2026-96656","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2026-96656","generatedAt":"2026-10-31T03:49:05.011Z","title":"Plex Media Server External Control of File Name or Path Vulnerability","description":"Plex Media Server before 1.43.3.10861 allows an admin user to write arbitrary files that may be executed on load. The preference TranscoderH264Options is appended verbatim to x264's option string on every transcode. At startup, all .so files are run without signature, execute bit, or symbol checks.","published":"2026-09-23T17:17:24.000Z","lastModified":"2026-10-21T13:09:19.000Z","status":"Analyzed","sourceIdentifier":"9119a7d8-5eab-497f-8521-727c672e3725","cvss":{"version":"4.0","score":8.6,"severity":"HIGH","vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/M"},"cwe":["CWE-73"],"affected":["plex/media server"],"epss":{"score":0.01785,"percentile":0.78279,"date":"2026-10-30","history":[{"date":"2026-09-24","score":0.00339,"percentile":0.24551}]},"kev":{"listed":true,"dateAdded":"2026-10-20","dueDate":"2026-10-23","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Unknown","notes":"Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.\nhttps://forums.plex.tv/t/important-security-update-for-plex-media-server-v1-43-2-and-earlier/942319 ; ; BOD 26-04: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk ; Forensics Triage Requirements: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-implementation-guidance-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96656"},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"urgent","text":"Known to be exploited in the wild (CISA KEV, CISA remediation deadline 23 October 2026). Treat as an emergency change: patch or isolate now, then hunt for prior compromise."},"changes":[{"kind":"kev","label":"Added to KEV","at":"2026-10-20T00:00:00.000Z","detail":{"name":"Plex Media Server External Control of File Name or Path Vulnerability","vendor":"Plex","dueDate":"2026-10-23","product":"Media Server","ransomware":"Unknown"},"summary":"Added to CISA KEV — known to be exploited; federal remediation due 2026-10-23."},{"kind":"new","label":"New CVE","at":"2026-09-23T17:17:24.000Z","detail":{"score":"8.6","severity":"HIGH","publishedAt":"2026-09-23T17:17:23.840Z"},"summary":"New CVE, high severity (CVSS 8.6)."}],"references":[{"url":"https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-media-server/30447/711","tags":["Release Notes"],"source":"9119a7d8-5eab-497f-8521-727c672e3725"},{"url":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cisagov/CSAF/develop/csaf_files/IT/white/2026/va-26-266-01.json","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"9119a7d8-5eab-497f-8521-727c672e3725"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-96656","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"9119a7d8-5eab-497f-8521-727c672e3725"},{"url":"https://zmain.info/blog/plex2shell","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"9119a7d8-5eab-497f-8521-727c672e3725"},{"url":"https://www.boredhackerblog.info/2026/10/plex-vulnerabilities-being-exploited-in.html","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-96656","tags":["US Government Resource"],"source":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96656","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}