CVE-2026-45311
CRITICALCVE-2026-45311 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.6) Code Injection vulnerability in deepseek-tui. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-45311 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
CodeWhale: run_tests Tool Enables RCE via Malicious Repository Without Approval
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-2026-45311.
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-2026-45311 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 358,265 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, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
deepseek-tuicrates.ioDescription
CodeWhale is a DeepSeek + MiMo coding agent in terminal. From 0.3.0 to 0.8.23, the run_tests tool executes cargo test in the workspace with ApprovalRequirement::Auto, meaning it runs without any user approval prompt. cargo test compiles and executes arbitrary code: test binaries, build.rs build scripts, and proc macros. While auto-approving test execution is a deliberate design choice, it creates an inconsistency in the security boundary. However, in a malicious repository, test code can execute arbitrary shell commands, exfiltrate credentials, or establish persistence with zero approval. The attack is amplified by AGENTS.md (auto-loaded into the system prompt), which can instruct the model to run tests proactively at session start. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.8.23.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦀crates.io | deepseek-tui | ≥ 0.3.0&&< 0.8.23 | 0.8.23 |
| 🦀crates.io | deepseek-tui-cli | ≥ 0.3.0&&< 0.8.23 | 0.8.23 |
| 📦npm | deepseek-tui | ≥ 0.3.0&&< 0.8.23 | 0.8.23 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for deepseek-tui. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update deepseek-tui to 0.8.23 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-45311 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-45311 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-45311. 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-2026-45311 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-45311 across crates.io, npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.