CVE WatchOct 21, 2026

CVE-2026-96656

Plex Media Server External Control of File Name or Path Vulnerability

CVSS

7.2

High

EPSS

1.8%

p78

KEV

YES

Oct 20, 2026

Exploit Today

0-100

Published: Sep 23, 2026 · Last modified: Oct 21, 2026 · CWE-73

EPSS · 30d

0.4%EPSS · 30 days1.8%

2026-10-102026-11-07

KEV catalog record

Product

Plex / Media Server

Vulnerability

Plex Media Server External Control of File Name or Path Vulnerability

Added to KEV

Oct 20, 2026

Remediate by

Oct 23, 2026

Known ransomware use

Summary description

Plex Media Server contains an external control of file name or path vulnerability which can allow an admin user to write arbitrary files that may be executed on load. This vulnerability can be chained with CVE-2026-96652, CVE-2026-96654, and CVE-2026-96655.

Required action

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.

Notes

https://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

Technical 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.

Official references

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