Sandbox Escape in Cursor Code Editor by Cursor

CVE-2026-50549

What is CVE-2026-50549?

The Cursor Code Editor, a tool designed for programming with AI, has a vulnerability that allows a malicious agent to bypass its sandbox environment. Prior to version 3.0, the editor runs terminal commands in a sandbox but uses a flawed canonicalization process when verifying file paths. If canonicalization fails—potentially due to user manipulation—a malicious agent can create a symbolic link that points outside the designated workspace. This allows unauthorized file writes under the user’s privileges, enabling non-sandboxed remote code execution through the modification of critical components, such as the cursorsandbox helper. Users are encouraged to upgrade to version 3.0 or later to mitigate this risk.

References