C2PA SDK CVE-2026-48353

Exploitation requires a victim to actively open or process a malicious C2PA-signed file using a vulnerable version of one of the three affected implementations (Rust SDK ≤ c2pa-v0.84.0, JS SDK ≤ @contentauth/c2pa-web@0.7.0, or c2patool ≤ v0.16.5). The attacker supplies the malicious file; the victim must take the action of loading it. No authentication or network exposure is required on the attacker side - the vector is fully file-based. Exploitation is limited by: (1) mandatory user interaction, making automated scanning attacks infeasible (confirmed by SSVC automatable: no); (2) the local attack vector meaning the attacker cannot directly reach the target and must rely on social engineering or supply-chain delivery; (3) impact is read-only, with no integrity or availability consequence; and (4) readable files are constrained to those accessible under the process's user account permissions.

The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) scores 5.5 Medium, reflecting a local attack vector with no privileges required but mandatory user interaction (file open). EPSS at 0.15% (5th percentile) signals very low observed exploitation probability, consistent with CISA SSVC assessment of exploitation: none and automatable: no. SSVC rates technical impact as partial, aligning with confidentiality-only impact. No KEV listing and no POC confirm this is currently theoretical. The real-world risk is modest: exploitation requires social engineering a victim into opening a specially crafted C2PA file, which then leaks local filesystem content - a meaningful threat in environments where operators process untrusted media (e.g., news verification pipelines), but not a broadly automated attack surface. The non-default nature of C2PA processing further limits exposure.

An attacker crafts a malicious C2PA-signed media file containing a manifest with path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../etc/passwd) in asset reference fields. The file is delivered to a victim - for example via email attachment or a media verification portal - and when the victim or their application opens it using the vulnerable C2PA Rust SDK, JS SDK, or c2patool, the SDK resolves the traversed path and reads the referenced file, potentially exfiltrating sensitive configuration files, credentials, or private keys accessible to the process. No public proof-of-concept is available at time of analysis.