Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach exposed upload/KB-create API
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DeliverySend request with `..\` in knowledge_base_name
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ExploitWrite content outside KB root
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ExecutionPlace file in sensitive path
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ImpactTrigger execution or overwrite config
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 | Exploitation requires reachable access to Langchain-Chatchat's knowledge base creation or document upload interface and the ability to submit a crafted knowledge_base_name value containing traversal sequences such as |
| Impact | Multiple signals are in tension here and must be weighed carefully. The provided CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) rates this 9.1 Critical, implying trivially remote, unauthenticated exploitation of an arbitrary-file-write path traversal (CWE-22) in Langchain-Chatchat 0.3.0 and 0.3.1. However, the EPSS score is only 0.14% (3rd percentile), indicating the predictive models see very low near-term mass-exploitation likelihood, and the CVE is NOT in CISA KEV, so there is no public evidence of active exploitation. A reference gist (github.com/Ro1ME) and the project issue tracker (#5467) strongly suggest proof-of-concept exploit material exists, so the realistic status is 'publicly available exploit code exists' rather than active exploitation. The low EPSS despite a high CVSS is consistent with a niche developer-facing RAG application having a small internet-exposed attack surface rather than the flaw being low-impact. One signal to verify: the input CVSS marks C:H/I:H/A:N, but the described primitive is a file *write* ('write knowledge base content to arbitrary locations'), which most naturally yields high integrity (and potential availability/RCE) impact rather than direct confidentiality disclosure - the C:H rating appears to assume write-to-RCE escalation and should be confirmed against the actual exploit. Net: a genuinely serious flaw for anyone running these exact versions exposed to untrusted users, but its real-world priority is tempered by low deployment footprint and no confirmed in-the-wild activity. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker with network access to a Langchain-Chatchat 0.3.0/0.3.1 instance sends a crafted knowledge-base-creation or document-upload request embedding path traversal sequences (e.g. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 05, 2026
Path traversal in Langchain-Chatchat 0.3.0 and 0.3.1 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to write knowledge base content to arbitrary filesystem locations outside the configured knowledge base root by injecting traversal sequences such as ..\ into the knowledge_base_name parameter of the knowledge base creation and document upload interfaces. The independent assessment scores this CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H (9.1), i.e. no confidentiality loss but high integrity and availability impact, since arbitrary file writes can overwrite or clobber existing files and, depending on which paths the service process can reach, may be escalated toward code execution. Not listed in CISA KEV and no public exploit identified at time of analysis; EPSS is 0.14% (roughly the 3rd percentile), so automated mass exploitation is unlikely, but the advisory references an upstream GitHub issue and a public gist that may carry additional technical detail.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis, and no fixed version is documented in the supplied data, so remediation must be compensating controls. The most effective immediate step is to stop exposing the knowledge base creation and document upload interfaces: bind the service to localhost or an internal-only interface, firewall the management/API ports, and place an authenticating reverse proxy in front of the UI and API - Langchain-Chatchat ships without built-in authentication by default, so unauthenticated instances are directly exposed to this PR:N/UI:N issue; the trade-off is that legitimate unauthenticated or scripted clients will break until they supply credentials. Where the endpoints must remain reachable, patch or wrap the path construction so that knowledge_base_name is strictly validated (allow-list characters, reject .., ..\, absolute paths and mixed separators) and the final target is canonicalized with something like realpath and checked to be inside the knowledge base root before any write; the trade-off is that this is custom code maintenance against an unpatched upstream, so it should be re-verified against the upstream GitHub issue for the eventual official fix. Run the service on Linux or otherwise ensure backslash sequences are normalized, since the disclosed payloads rely on Windows-style separators. Finally, run the application as a low-privileged, containerized user with a read-only root filesystem and a single writable volume for the knowledge base directory, which blocks writes to startup scripts, configuration, or web-served paths that could convert the file write into code execution; the trade-off is that read-only root filesystems can break features that expect to write caches, logs, or temporary data, so those paths must be explicitly mounted. Monitor the knowledge base and upload endpoints for traversal patterns such as ..\ and ../ in request bodies, and review the advisory at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-51883 and the upstream issue https://github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat/issues/5467 for patch guidance.
Affected VersionsENISA
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Technical ContextAI · show details
Langchain-Chatchat (formerly langchain-ChatGLM) is an open-source retrieval-augmented-generation application that combines a LangChain-based backend with a web UI, and it exposes knowledge base creation and document upload endpoints that take a user-supplied knowledge_base_name which is concatenated into a filesystem path beneath the configured knowledge base root (KB_ROOT). Because the parameter is not sanitized or canonicalized before path construction, sequences such as ..\ (Windows-style separators) allow the resolved write target to escape that root - the classic CWE-22 improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory pattern. The use of backslash traversal in the description indicates the vulnerable path handling does not normalize backslashes, making Windows hosts, or any deployment where the input reaches an OS without separator normalization, the most reliable target; POSIX deployments attempting ../ may be normalized or rejected depending on the code path. This is a write primitive rather than a read primitive, so the assessed impact is C:N/I:H/A:H: attackers cannot directly exfiltrate files, but they can plant or overwrite content anywhere the service account has write permission, and file-write-to-code-execution escalation depends on whether writable high-value paths (startup scripts, configuration, templated/loaded modules, or web-served directories) are reachable from the process. The supplied CPE record is a placeholder (cpe:2.3:a:n/a:n/a), so no authoritative CPE mapping exists in the provided data; the ENISA EUVD entry EUVD-2026-91122 mirrors the NVD advisory.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Remote unauthenticated arbitrary file write (no default auth) gives high integrity and availability impact via overwrite/RCE potential, but no direct confidentiality disclosure, so C:N.
Primary rating from Vendor (mitre).
CVSS VectorVendor: mitre
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
The knowledge base creation and document upload interfaces in Langchain-Chatchat 0.3.0;0.3.1 is vulnerable to path traversal. An attacker can inject path traversal sequences (such as ..\) into the knowledge_base_name parameter to write knowledge base content to arbitrary locations outside the configured knowledge base root directory.
Executive ViewAI
Langchain-Chatchat 0.3.0 and 0.3.1, an open-source LLM knowledge-base application, contain a critical unauthenticated path-traversal flaw that allows any attacker who can reach the service to write files to arbitrary locations on the host, potentially overwriting configuration, data, or executable content. Because no vendor patch exists, every deployment reachable from an untrusted network remains exposed, and any data or systems the Chatchat process can touch should be considered at risk. Leadership should weigh the cost of restricting network access or retiring these versions against the possibility of host compromise and loss of service availability.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: restrict network access to the knowledge base creation and upload endpoints (place behind authenticated reverse proxy and trusted networks only); enforce input validation or WAF rules rejecting traversal sequences and absolute paths in the knowledge_base_name and upload parameters; run the Chatchat service as a low-privilege, non-privileged account in a container with a read-only root filesystem and mounts confined to the knowledge base root; apply file integrity monitoring and alerting on unexpected writes; and consider temporarily disabling remote knowledge base creation and document upload functionality.
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.
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EUVD-2026-91122
GHSA-c4wm-cr62-pcg5
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB