Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessPublish malicious repository with .prompts template
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DeliveryVictim clones and opens workspace in Theia
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ExploitTheia auto-loads .prompttemplate as system prompt
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ExecutionVictim invokes AI chat agent
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PersistHijacked prompt triggers Markdown image fetch or task execution
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ImpactSecrets exfiltrated or commands run on developer host
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A08:2025 - Software or Data Integrity Failures
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Trusted source inclusion only
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the victim to open an attacker-supplied workspace containing files at the path .prompts/*.prompttemplate in a Theia version prior to 1.71.0, with the AI agent / AI chat feature enabled and used after the workspace is opened. The CVSS UI:A and AV:L metrics confirm that no network-reachable service is exposed - the attacker must deliver the malicious repository (clone, zip, fork, etc.) and the victim must open it. Realized impact (data exfiltration or command execution) further depends on the victim invoking the AI chat after opening the workspace and on the IDE being permitted to render remote Markdown images or execute task definitions, which are default-on AI/IDE behaviors rather than special configuration. |
| Impact | The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A) with 8.4 severity reflects high vulnerable-system C/I/A impact gated by user interaction - specifically, the victim must open the malicious workspace, which is the normal operating mode for an IDE and therefore a realistic precondition. There is no CISA KEV listing, no EPSS score provided, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis, so this is not an in-the-wild incident, but the conceptual barrier is low: any developer who clones and opens an untrusted repository (a routine review/triage workflow) becomes exposed. The AV:L choice is consistent with the attack landing through a workspace file rather than the network, and the lack of subsequent-system impact (SC:N/SI:N/SA:N) is debatable since attacker-controlled command execution and outbound Markdown image fetches can clearly reach beyond the IDE process - defenders should treat this as a developer-workstation compromise primitive, not just an IDE bug. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker publishes an attractive-looking repository (for example, a library fix, a CTF challenge, or a job-interview take-home) that contains a .prompts/system.prompttemplate file. When a developer using a vulnerable Theia-based IDE clones and opens the project, Theia silently loads the template and replaces the AI agent's system instructions with attacker-controlled directives that, on the next AI chat interaction, either render a Markdown image whose URL embeds workspace secrets or invoke a malicious task definition to execute commands on the developer's host. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Jun 18, 2026
Indirect prompt injection in Eclipse Theia before 1.71.0 allows a malicious repository to automatically override the AI agent's system prompts when a victim opens the workspace, by placing files under .prompts/*.prompttemplate that Theia auto-loads. Combined with built-in AI chat features, the hijacked prompt can chain to data exfiltration via Markdown image rendering or arbitrary command execution via task definitions. No public exploit identified at time of analysis and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: Eclipse Theia 1.71.0 - upgrade to 1.71.0 or later as the primary fix, per the Eclipse advisory at https://gitlab.eclipse.org/security/cve-assignment/-/work_items/114. Until upgrade, treat any cloned repository as potentially hostile: before opening an untrusted workspace, inspect or delete any .prompts/ directory and *.prompttemplate files, and disable the AI agent / AI chat features for that workspace (this removes the AI-assisted workflow but eliminates the injection sink). Additional compensating controls include opening untrusted code in a sandboxed container or VM so that task-definition command execution and Markdown image fetches cannot reach developer credentials or internal networks, and blocking outbound network egress from the IDE host to prevent Markdown-image data exfiltration (at the cost of breaking other IDE features that fetch remote assets).
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 7 packages in npm, euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
Eclipse Theia is an open-source IDE framework (the basis for several commercial IDE products) that integrates an AI agent with configurable system prompts. The flaw maps to CWE-829 (Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere): workspace-scoped files matching the glob .prompts/*.prompttemplate were treated as trusted prompt-engineering material and merged into or replaced the agent's system instructions without a trust boundary distinguishing workspace content from IDE configuration. Because Theia's AI chat surface can also render Markdown (including remote images) and invoke workspace task definitions, an attacker-controlled system prompt becomes a pivot into the IDE's own privileged side-effect channels. The single CPE cpe:2.3:a:eclipse_foundation:eclipse_theia:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covers the Theia application across versions prior to 1.71.0.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Attack lands via a local workspace file (AV:L), no privileges needed (PR:N), victim must open the workspace (UI:R); attacker-controlled prompt pivots to task-execution and exfiltration outside the IDE process, justifying S:C and full C/I/A:H.
Primary rating from Vendor (eclipse).
CVSS VectorVendor: eclipse
Lifecycle Timeline
1DescriptionCVE.org
In Eclipse Theia versions prior to 1.71.0, files matching the pattern .prompts/*.prompttemplate in a workspace were automatically loaded and could override or extend the AI agent's system prompts. An attacker could craft a malicious repository containing prompt template files that, when the workspace was opened in Theia, replaced the AI's system instructions with attacker-controlled content (indirect prompt injection). Combined with other AI chat features available in untrusted workspaces, this enabled attack chains leading to data exfiltration via Markdown image rendering or arbitrary command execution via task definitions.
Executive ViewAI
Eclipse Theia versions prior to 1.71.0 contain an indirect prompt injection vulnerability that allows attackers to hijack AI system prompts through malicious repository files, potentially enabling data exfiltration or arbitrary command execution when developers open affected workspaces. While no confirmed active exploitation has been identified, the vulnerability poses significant risk to development teams using Theia's AI chat capabilities to handle sensitive information.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: restrict repository access to trusted internal sources only; disable AI chat functionality if not required; implement pre-import scanning of repository files for suspicious .prompts/*.prompttemplate files; require security review of workspace configuration before opening repositories from new sources; deploy development environments in sandboxed or containerized systems to limit impact of arbitrary command execution.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Code injection occurs when an application accepts user input and passes it directly into a language interpreter or evaluator without proper sanitization.
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EUVD-2026-37899
GHSA-m973-pr9r-hp2w
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB