⚠ Reference material — not professional advice. Test in staging, back up first, verify against your specific version. Use your own judgment for your environment.
● Medium · CVSS 6.9

How to Fix CVE-2026-0651: Path Traversal in Tapo C260 v1

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

*By Sai Kiran Pandrala*

⚡ At a glance
SeverityCVSS 6.9 - Medium
Actively exploited?Not currently listed in CISA KEV
Affected0 < 1.1.9 Build 251226 Rel.55870n, 0 < 1.2.2 Build 260210 Rel.27165n, 0 < 1.2.4 Build 260326 Rel.24666n
Fixed inSee vendor advisory
Type (CWE)CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

What is CVE-2026-0651?

CVE-2026-0651 is a path traversal flaw in Tapo C260 v1. The product fails to canonicalize or restrict file paths supplied by a remote caller, so .. sequences or absolute paths reach restricted parts of the filesystem. Vendor description: A path traversal vulnerability was identified TP-Link Tapo C260 v1, D235 v1 and C520WS v2.6 within the HTTP server’s handling of GET requests. The server performs path normalization before fully decoding URL encoded input and falls back to using the raw path when normalization fails.

Why this CVE matters

Path traversal flaws look low-impact on paper but routinely chain into full compromise. An attacker who can read arbitrary files often pulls configuration secrets, session databases, or private keys, and many traversal bugs also allow writes that drop a webshell into the document root.

For deployments of Tapo C260 v1 that have been exposed to the public internet during the disclosure window, the operating assumption should be that scanning has already happened. Even where exploitation has not been publicly observed, scanning for the vulnerable fingerprint is cheap and routine. Patching closes the door; log review and credential rotation close out the rest of the response.

Am I affected?

You are affected if your installation matches any of these version ranges:

Check your installed version against the list above. If you cannot determine the version, treat the system as affected and follow the upgrade path below.

Open Tapo C260 v1's About dialog or run the vendor-documented version-check command. Compare the result against the affected ranges in the advisory.

How to fix CVE-2026-0651

The fix is to upgrade Tapo C260 v1 to one of these patched versions (pick the one matching your release line): 1.1.9 Build 251226 Rel.55870n, 1.2.2 Build 260210 Rel.27165n, 1.2.4 Build 260326 Rel.24666n.

Affected versions confirmed in the CVE record:

Apply the firmware update


<!-- enrich_agent_2:v1 -->
# Affected models + patched firmware (from the vendor advisory):
# - Tapo C260 v1: install firmware 1.1.9 Build 251226 Rel.55870n or later
# - Tapo D235 v1: install firmware 1.2.2 Build 260210 Rel.27165n or later
# - Tapo C520WS v2.6: install firmware 1.2.4 Build 260326 Rel.24666n or later

# 1. Open the device's web admin UI on its LAN address.
#    (Most models default to http://192.168.1.1/ or http://routerlogin.net/.)
#    Sign in with the admin account.

# 2. Navigate to ADVANCED -> Administration -> Firmware Update (or "Router
#    Update"). Click Check. If the device offers an OTA, install it.

# 3. If no OTA is offered, download the patched .img / .chk firmware from the
#    vendor's product page (linked above) and upload it manually via
#    Administration -> Firmware Update -> Browse -> Upload.

# 4. Reboot when prompted, then re-confirm the running firmware version in
#    ADVANCED -> Administration -> Router Information.


<!-- enrich_agent_2:v1 -->
# Optional: pull the device-info page to confirm the running firmware version
# over the LAN (NETGEAR / generic example).
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "http://routerlogin.net/RST_status.htm" -UseDefaultCredentials |
  Select-String -Pattern "Firmware Version"

Verify the fix worked


<!-- enrich_agent_2:v1 -->
# 1. Confirm the running version matches the fixed-in version from the advisory.
#    Cross-check against the vendor advisory: https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/4960/

# 2. Re-scan with your vulnerability scanner. The scanner should no longer flag
#    this CVE on the patched host.
# Example with Nmap NSE:
nmap -sV --script vuln <target-host>

# 3. Inspect the service / kernel logs for crash-loops or rollback events in
#    the first hour after the upgrade.
journalctl -u <service-name> --since "1 hour ago"
dmesg --since "1 hour ago"

If you cannot patch immediately

Restrict access to the management interface to trusted internal IP addresses only. Block public access at the firewall and require VPN for any remote administration. Apply the patch as soon as a maintenance window allows.

How to verify the fix worked

If your installation was internet-reachable during the disclosure window, treat log review as part of the remediation rather than an optional follow-up. Look for unusually long URI paths containing traversal sequences, unexpectedly large responses from the affected endpoint, and outbound requests from the application to internal addresses or cloud-metadata endpoints. Treat any sensitive file the bug could disclose as exposed.

Frequently asked questions

Is CVE-2026-0651 being exploited in the wild?

Public exploitation has not been confirmed by CISA at the time of writing. Treat the patch as time-sensitive anyway; reports often lag actual abuse.

Will a WAF or IDS rule fully mitigate CVE-2026-0651?

No. Network-layer filters can reduce noise and slow opportunistic scanners, but they will not stop a determined attacker. The vendor patch is the only durable fix.

How long should I plan for the upgrade?

Typical vendor-documented upgrade windows for Tapo C260 v1 run from a few minutes to under an hour depending on cluster size. Test in a staging environment first and follow the vendor's documented HA upgrade order.

References

*This guide was assembled from the official vendor advisory, the NVD record, and the CISA KEV catalog entry on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor advisory before applying changes in production.*