{"id":"CVE-2026-49986","state":"PUBLISHED","title":"Cortex has Untrusted Project Bootstrap Code Execution via `CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR`","description":"The Cortex MCP server (`neuro-cortex-memory`), a cross-platform persistent memory MCP, prior to version 3.17.1 treats the `CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR` environment variable — automatically set by Claude Code to the currently open project directory — as a trusted Cortex developer checkout. When the `open_visualization` tool is invoked, `_find_dev_source()` resolves the user's active project directory as a candidate Cortex source root. The only validation performed by `_is_cortex_root()` is a check for the presence of an `mcp_server/` subdirectory and a `ui/unified-viz.html` file. An attacker who places these two marker files in a malicious repository can cause Cortex to execute an arbitrary `mcp_server/server/visualize_bootstrap.py` from that directory via `subprocess.run([sys.executable, ...])`, achieving code execution with the privileges of the victim's local user process. Version 3.17.1 fixes the issue.","publishedAt":"2026-08-14T16:21:39.125Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-17T19:35:51.570Z","severity":{"score":7.1,"label":"High","version":"4.0","vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P","source":"GitHub_M"},"assigner":"GitHub_M","products":["cdeust Cortex"],"affected":[{"vendor":"cdeust","product":"Cortex","versions":[{"version":"< 3.17.1","status":"affected"}]}],"references":["https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/security/advisories/GHSA-gvpp-v77h-5w8g","https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/releases/tag/v3.17.1","https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/neuro-cortex-memory/PYSEC-2026-2676.yaml"],"weaknesses":["CWE-829"],"ingestedAt":"2026-10-29T20:12:07.131Z","source":{"repository":"CVEProject/cvelistV5","path":"cves/2026/49xxx/CVE-2026-49986.json","commit":"556c9d3a8cd17e218bb8e452ba7cd619a384ff47"},"raw":{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2026-49986","state":"PUBLISHED","datePublished":"2026-08-14T16:21:39.125Z","dateUpdated":"2026-08-17T19:35:51.570Z","assignerShortName":"GitHub_M","assignerOrgId":"a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa","dateReserved":"2026-06-02T18:30:51.282Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"title":"Cortex has Untrusted Project Bootstrap Code Execution via `CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR`","descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"The Cortex MCP server (`neuro-cortex-memory`), a cross-platform persistent memory MCP, prior to version 3.17.1 treats the `CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR` environment variable — automatically set by Claude Code to the currently open project directory — as a trusted Cortex developer checkout. When the `open_visualization` tool is invoked, `_find_dev_source()` resolves the user's active project directory as a candidate Cortex source root. The only validation performed by `_is_cortex_root()` is a check for the presence of an `mcp_server/` subdirectory and a `ui/unified-viz.html` file. An attacker who places these two marker files in a malicious repository can cause Cortex to execute an arbitrary `mcp_server/server/visualize_bootstrap.py` from that directory via `subprocess.run([sys.executable, ...])`, achieving code execution with the privileges of the victim's local user process. Version 3.17.1 fixes the issue."}],"affected":[{"vendor":"cdeust","product":"Cortex","versions":[{"version":"< 3.17.1","status":"affected"}]}],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/security/advisories/GHSA-gvpp-v77h-5w8g","name":"https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/security/advisories/GHSA-gvpp-v77h-5w8g","tags":["x_refsource_CONFIRM"]},{"url":"https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/releases/tag/v3.17.1","name":"https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/releases/tag/v3.17.1","tags":["x_refsource_MISC"]},{"url":"https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/neuro-cortex-memory/PYSEC-2026-2676.yaml","name":"https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/neuro-cortex-memory/PYSEC-2026-2676.yaml","tags":["x_refsource_MISC"]}],"metrics":[{"cvssV4_0":{"attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"LOW","attackRequirements":"NONE","privilegesRequired":"LOW","userInteraction":"NONE","vulnConfidentialityImpact":"HIGH","vulnIntegrityImpact":"HIGH","vulnAvailabilityImpact":"HIGH","subConfidentialityImpact":"NONE","subIntegrityImpact":"NONE","subAvailabilityImpact":"NONE","baseScore":7.1,"baseSeverity":"HIGH","vectorString":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P","version":"4.0"}}],"problemTypes":[{"descriptions":[{"cweId":"CWE-829","lang":"en","description":"CWE-829: Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere","type":"CWE"}]}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"GitHub_M","orgId":"a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa","dateUpdated":"2026-08-14T16:21:39.125Z"},"source":{"advisory":"GHSA-gvpp-v77h-5w8g","discovery":"UNKNOWN"}},"adp":[{"title":"CISA ADP Vulnrichment","references":[{"url":"https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/security/advisories/GHSA-gvpp-v77h-5w8g","tags":["exploit"]}],"metrics":[{"other":{"type":"ssvc","content":{"timestamp":"2026-08-17T19:35:41.212124Z","id":"CVE-2026-49986","options":[{"Exploitation":"poc"},{"Automatable":"no"},{"Technical Impact":"total"}],"role":"CISA Coordinator","version":"2.0.3"}}}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"CISA-ADP","orgId":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0","dateUpdated":"2026-08-17T19:35:51.570Z"}}]}}}