Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessCraft malicious template with path traversal payload
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DeliveryDistribute template via public registry or shared repository
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ExploitVictim developer invokes knowns code generation
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ExecutionTemplate engine constructs unvalidated output path
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PersistTraverse outside project root and overwrite shell profile
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ImpactPersistent code execution on victim workstation at next shell login
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | The victim must be running knowns version 0.33.0 or earlier and must invoke the code generation engine against an attacker-controlled template - this is the sole triggering condition (UI:A in CVSS 4.0). No authentication, special configuration, or non-default deployment mode is required on the attacker's side; the traversal path is embedded in the template file itself. Exploitation is limited by the need for developer interaction: the victim must actively fetch and run a malicious template. The impact is bounded by the filesystem permissions of the user executing knowns - root-owned files are not writable unless the tool is run as root, which is not a typical developer workflow. No specific OS or platform restriction is documented. |
| Impact | The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A - score 8.6) accurately captures the attack surface: no privileges or special configuration needed, but user interaction is required (a developer must invoke the code generator with an attacker-supplied template). The high VC:H/VI:H/VA:H scores are credible given that arbitrary file write to a developer workstation trivially achieves persistent RCE via shell profile manipulation. EPSS data is not provided in source intelligence. No CISA KEV listing and no explicit POC code, suggesting no confirmed in-the-wild mass exploitation yet. However, the developer toolchain targeting vector (supply-chain / malicious template repository attack) is realistic and has been used in analogous campaigns against npm, PyPI, and similar ecosystems. The VulnCheck report and two GitHub Security Advisories raise confidence that the issue is genuine and independently confirmed. The primary limiting factor is UI:A - mass exploitation requires victims to actively process attacker-controlled templates, reducing automated exploitation potential. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A threat actor publishes a malicious knowns template to a public template registry or contributes it to a shared project repository. When a developer runs knowns to generate code using this template, the template engine writes a payload to ~/.bashrc (e.g., a reverse shell one-liner) due to the unvalidated traversal path embedded in the template metadata. On the developer's next shell login, the payload executes, establishing persistent access to the workstation and any credentials, tokens, or SSH keys stored there. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 10, 2026
Path traversal in the knowns code generation template engine (versions through 0.33.0) allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read and write arbitrary files outside the project root when a victim developer processes a malicious template. The flaw in template_engine.go (lines 318-344 and 625-636) permits directory-traversal sequences in template destination paths, enabling attackers to overwrite shell initialization files (e.g., ~/.bashrc, ~/.profile) for persistent code execution or exfiltrate credential files from the developer's host. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis and this CVE is not listed in CISA KEV, but the full read/write impact on a developer workstation represents significant supply-chain risk.
RemediationAI
Upgrade knowns to a version beyond 0.33.0 - the two GitHub Security Advisories (GHSA-68cq-4rwm-f7jr, GHSA-xjcg-5j3r-m6f9 at github.com/knowns-dev/knowns) should be consulted for the confirmed fixed release version, which is not explicitly stated in available intelligence. Until a patch is applied, the primary compensating control is to process only templates sourced from fully trusted, verified repositories under your own control - avoid running knowns against third-party or community-contributed templates. Running the code generator in an isolated environment (e.g., a container with the project directory bind-mounted read-only and no access to home directories) removes the ability to overwrite shell profiles or steal credentials, at the cost of requiring a wrapper invocation workflow. Monitoring for unexpected writes outside the project directory (via inotify or auditd rules on home directory files) provides detection capability as an interim measure.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
knowns is a Go-based code generation framework (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:knowns-dev:knowns) that processes user-supplied templates to scaffold output files. The vulnerable template engine fails to canonicalize or jail destination paths before writing generated output, a classic CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory) defect. The specific logic flaws are pinpointed in the open-source repository at internal/codegen/template_engine.go lines 318-344 (path construction) and 625-636 (write path handling). Because template input is attacker-controlled and the output path is derived from template metadata without adequate validation against the project root, an attacker embedding '../../../' sequences in template destination fields can direct writes (and reads) to any path accessible to the user running the tool.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Network-delivered via malicious template; no privileges needed; user must run generator (UI:R); all three impacts high on the developer's own system, no scope change.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
DescriptionCVE.org
knowns through 0.33.0 fails to properly validate template destination paths in the code generation template engine, allowing attackers to read and write arbitrary files outside the project root. Attackers can supply malicious templates that traverse directories to overwrite shell profiles, steal credentials, or achieve persistent code execution on victim systems.
Technical POC Analysis
CWE-22 (path traversal).
Full technical POC analysis - root cause, step-by-step exploitation and patch breakdown - is part of the Pro and Business plans.
Executive ViewAI
The knowns code generation template engine (versions ≤0.33.0) contains an unauthenticated path traversal vulnerability enabling remote attackers to read and write arbitrary files on developer workstations, creating a critical supply-chain risk. Exploitation could result in credential theft, persistent backdoor installation, or injection of malicious code into production builds, potentially compromising every development team relying on this tool.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: (1) Restrict template inputs to pre-approved, internally-developed templates with strict version control; (2) Isolate template processing to temporary, read-only containerized environments destroyed after use; (3) Implement real-time file integrity monitoring on developer credential stores and shell configurations; (4) Enforce mandatory manual review and diff inspection of all generated files; (5) Disable the knowns template engine entirely and revert to manual code generation if the workflow is not business-critical, pending patch release.
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
Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
Missing authentication in Knowns (knowns-dev/knowns) before 0.30.0 exposes the management API on all network interfaces
External control of a filesystem path in Knowns (knowns-dev/knowns) before 0.31.0 lets remote attackers escape the proje
Path traversal in the knowns npm documentation tool (versions ≤ 0.29.1) enables remote unauthenticated attackers to read
Path traversal in knowns before v0.30.0 permits unauthenticated remote attackers to write files outside the designated i
Path traversal in knowns (a Go-based MCP-integrated knowledge management server) before version 0.30.0 allows authentica
Path traversal in the knowns template-preview API (versions before 0.30.0) allows unauthenticated remote attackers to re
Privilege escalation in knowns through 0.33.0 permits authenticated read-only agent sessions to bypass authorization con
Arbitrary binary execution in knowns before 0.30.0 is triggered when a developer opens a repository containing a crafted
Path traversal in the knowns MCP server's handleCodeReplace() function allows unauthenticated network attackers to overw
Authorization bypass in knowns before v0.30.0 allows low-privileged users holding read-restricted sessions to escalate p
Path traversal in knowns through version 0.33.0 allows authenticated AI agent sessions to read arbitrary files anywhere
Server-side request forgery in Knowns ≤0.33.0 enables unauthenticated remote attackers to make the server issue outbound
EUVD-2026-75580
GHSA-86p5-fgr2-j5mh
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB