CVE-2025-61260 — @openai/codex
CRITICALCVE-2025-61260 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Code Injection vulnerability in @openai/codex. The records list no fixed version yet; check the vendor advisory below and apply the mitigations in the meantime.
OpenAI Codex CLI enables code execution through malicious MCP (Model Context Protocol) configuration files
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2025-61260.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.
@openai/codexnpmDescription
A vulnerability was identified in OpenAI Codex CLI v0.23.0 and before that enables code execution through malicious MCP (Model Context Protocol) configuration files. The attack is triggered when a user runs the codex command inside a malicious or compromised repository. Codex automatically loads project-local .env and .codex/config.toml files without requiring user confirmation, allowing attackers to embed arbitrary commands that execute immediately.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @openai/codex | all versions | No fix |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for @openai/codex, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
The records we use list no patched version of @openai/codex for CVE-2025-61260. Check the maintainer's advisory, and where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range.
Mitigate without a patch
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-61260 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.