CVE-2026-34524 — sillytavern
HIGHCVE-2026-34524 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.3) Path Traversal vulnerability in sillytavern. A fix is available for sillytavern — see the affected versions and patch details below.
SillyTavern: Path traversal in `/api/chats/export` and `/api/chats/delete` allows arbitrary file read/delete within user data root
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-2026-34524.
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-2026-34524 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 378,567 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
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.
sillytavernnpmDescription
Summary
A Path Traversal vulnerability in chat endpoints allows an authenticated attacker to read and delete arbitrary files under their user data root (for example secrets.json and settings.json) by supplying avatar_url="..".
Details
The input validator used by avatar_url blocks only / and NUL bytes, but does not block traversal segments like ...
Evidence:
- Weak validator regex (does not reject
..):
https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/middleware/validateFileName.js#L24-L27 - Vulnerable delete path construction:
https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/endpoints/chats.js#L575-L577 - Vulnerable export path construction:
https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/endpoints/chats.js#L595-L598 - Endpoint auth context (authenticated user access):
https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/server-main.js#L239
Because avatar_url=".." is accepted, path.join(<user>/chats, "..") resolves to <user>/, enabling direct access to files outside the chats directory.
PoC
Prerequisites:
- Valid authenticated session cookie (
cookie.txt) - Valid CSRF token (
$TOKEN)
Read sensitive file (secrets.json):
curl -b cookie.txt -H "x-csrf-token: $TOKEN" -H "content-type: application/json" \
-d '{"avatar_url":"..","is_group":false,"file":"secrets.json","format":"jsonl","exportfilename":"x"}' \
http://TARGET:8000/api/chats/export
Delete sensitive file (settings.json):
curl -b cookie.txt -H "x-csrf-token: $TOKEN" -H "content-type: application/json" \
-d '{"avatar_url":"..","chatfile":"settings.json"}' \
http://TARGET:8000/api/chats/delete
Impact
- Confidentiality: exposed per-user secrets and config data.
- Integrity/Availability: attacker can delete critical per-user files and break account operation.
- Risk is significant in multi-user or remotely reachable deployments.
Resolution
The issue was addressed in version 1.17.0
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | sillytavern | all versions | 1.17.0npm install sillytavern@1.17.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for sillytavern, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update sillytavern to 1.17.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-34524 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
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-2026-34524 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-34524. 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-2026-34524 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-34524 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.