# CVE-2026-57571: UncleCode Crawl4AI Path Traversal in Crawler Downloads

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-57571-unclecode-crawl4ai-path-traversal-in-crawler-downloads  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-07-06. Updated: 2026-07-06  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-57571 · Severity: critical · CVSS 9.6 · Published 2026-07-06

Crawl4AI is an open-source tool used to scrape and crawl web content for use with Large Language Models (LLMs). A security flaw allows a malicious website to control the name and location of files downloaded by the crawler, potentially allowing the attacker to overwrite sensitive system files. This can lead to a total system takeover or remote code execution if the attacker overwrites critical configuration or startup files.

Technologies: [crawl4ai (PyPI)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/crawl4ai). Vendors: [PyPI](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/pypi).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-57571 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-57571 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-57571?** Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 9.6, published 6 July 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** crawl4ai (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=0.9.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-57571?** Yes. crawl4ai (PyPI): upgrade to 0.9.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-57571 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-57571?** Check whether you run crawl4ai (PyPI) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- crawl4ai (PyPI): upgrade to 0.9.0 or later

  ```sh
  pip install "crawl4ai>=0.9.0"
  ```


## Technical details

A path traversal vulnerability exists in the download handling logic of both the HTTP and Browser crawler strategies in Crawl4AI. In the HTTP crawler (AsyncHTTPCrawlerStrategy), the filename is extracted from the 'Content-Disposition' header, while the Browser crawler (AsyncPlaywrightCrawlerStrategy) uses the 'suggested_filename' provided by the browser. Because these inputs were joined to the download directory without proper sanitization or confinement, an attacker-controlled website could provide a filename containing absolute paths or traversal sequences (e.g., '../../etc/cron.d/evil'). This allows for arbitrary file writes with attacker-controlled content, which can be leveraged for remote code execution by overwriting SSH keys, cron jobs, or Python modules. The issue is fixed in version 0.9.0 by implementing a hardened path resolution helper that enforces basename-only filenames and validates the final path using realpath.

## Affected products

- unclecode crawl4ai <= 0.8.9

## Identifiers

- CVE-2026-57571
- GHSA-2jq4-q6vv-4cp3
- PYSEC-2026-2138

## Timeline

- 2026-06-18: patched: Fixed in version 0.9.0
- 2026-07-06: disclosed: CVE-2026-57571 published

## References

- [https://github.com/unclecode/crawl4ai/commit/60886d1a0c52682e4c83a7cef9dfac417fff6bd2](https://github.com/unclecode/crawl4ai/commit/60886d1a0c52682e4c83a7cef9dfac417fff6bd2)
- [https://github.com/unclecode/crawl4ai/security/advisories/GHSA-2jq4-q6vv-4cp3](https://github.com/unclecode/crawl4ai/security/advisories/GHSA-2jq4-q6vv-4cp3)

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- [Crawl4AI credential exfiltration in Docker API server](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-56259-crawl4ai-credential-exfiltration-in-docker-api-server)
- [PYSEC-2026-1281 - Crawl4AI SSRF vulnerability](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2025-28197-crawl4ai-ssrf-vulnerability)
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