Is CVE-2026-72841 exploited in the wild?

No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-72841 being exploited in the wild.

How severe is CVE-2026-72841?

Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 9.9, published 13 August 2026.

Which products and versions are affected?

OpenWrt Luci-App-Openvpn 25.12.2.

Is there a fix for CVE-2026-72841?

No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

How is CVE-2026-72841 attacked?

It is attacked over the network.

Am I affected by CVE-2026-72841?

Check whether you run OpenWrt Luci-App-Openvpn 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.

CVE-2026-72841: OpenWrt luci-app-openvpn path traversal and arbitrary file write

CVE-2026-72841 · Severity: critical · CVSS 9.9 · Published 2026-08-13

luci-app-openvpn is a web interface component for managing OpenVPN configurations on OpenWrt routers. Authenticated users with read-only access can exploit a path traversal flaw to upload arbitrary files outside the intended directory, enabling persistent root access by injecting SSH keys into system directories that execute on device reboot. This gives attackers complete control over the router.

Vendors: OpenWrt.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-72841 exploited in the wild?: No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-72841 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-72841?: Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 9.9, published 13 August 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?: OpenWrt Luci-App-Openvpn 25.12.2.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-72841?: No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.
How is CVE-2026-72841 attacked?: It is attacked over the network.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-72841?: Check whether you run OpenWrt Luci-App-Openvpn 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.

Technical details

The vulnerability is a path traversal flaw (CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path) in the luci-app-openvpn file upload handler. The application fails to sanitize the instance_name2 parameter, directly concatenating it to /etc/openvpn/ without enforcing directory boundaries or validating input. An authenticated attacker with read-only access to the OpenVPN configuration interface can manipulate instance_name2 to escape the intended directory and write files to arbitrary locations. By uploading shell commands to system directories (e.g., /etc/dropbear/authorized_keys), the attacker achieves remote code execution with root privileges on system reboot, enabling persistent SSH access and full device compromise. Patches are not yet available.

Affected products

OpenWrt luci-app-openvpn 25.12.2

Timeline

2026-07-21: disclosed: GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-jjcx-c284-2qv8 published
2026-08-13: advisory: CVE-2026-72841 published on NVD

References

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