{"id":"CVE-2026-49986","aliases":["GHSA-gvpp-v77h-5w8g","PYSEC-2026-2676"],"url":"https://o3.security/vulnerability/CVE-2026-49986","summary":"Cortex has Untrusted Project Bootstrap Code Execution via `CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR`","details":"The Cortex MCP server (`neuro-cortex-memory`), a cross-platform persistent memory MCP, prior to version 3.17.1 treats the `CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR` environment variable — automatically set by Claude Code to the currently open project directory — as a trusted Cortex developer checkout. When the `open_visualization` tool is invoked, `_find_dev_source()` resolves the user's active project directory as a candidate Cortex source root. The only validation performed by `_is_cortex_root()` is a check for the presence of an `mcp_server/` subdirectory and a `ui/unified-viz.html` file. An attacker who places these two marker files in a malicious repository can cause Cortex to execute an arbitrary `mcp_server/server/visualize_bootstrap.py` from that directory via `subprocess.run([sys.executable, ...])`, achieving code execution with the privileges of the victim's local user process. Version 3.17.1 fixes the issue.","published":"2026-08-14T16:21:39.125Z","modified":"2026-08-19T03:31:07.254865467Z","cvss":null,"epss":{"score":0.00113,"percentile":0.01553,"asOf":"2026-09-07"},"cisaKev":null,"exploitsKnown":0,"affectedPackages":[{"ecosystem":"PyPI","name":"neuro-cortex-memory","fixedVersion":"3.18.0"}],"fix":null,"references":[{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/releases/tag/v3.17.1"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/49xxx/CVE-2026-49986.json"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/security/advisories/GHSA-gvpp-v77h-5w8g"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/neuro-cortex-memory/PYSEC-2026-2676.yaml"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-49986"}],"provenance":{"sources":["OSV.dev","FIRST.org (EPSS)"],"lastVerified":"2026-08-19T03:31:07.254865467Z"}}