Vulnerability-Lookup

GHSA-XC9G-J69Q-37XW

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-08-25 18:35 – Updated: 2026-08-25 18:35

Summary

consciousness-explorer / sublinear-time-solver MCP export_state has an arbitrary file write

Details

Impact

An arbitrary file write vulnerability (CWE-73, External Control of File Name or Path) exists in the consciousness-explorer component of sublinear-time-solver. The MCP export_state (and import_state) tool accepted a user-supplied filepath argument and passed it directly to fs.writeFileSync / fs.readFileSync without constraining the destination or rejecting path traversal. An attacker able to invoke the MCP tool could write or overwrite any file accessible to the server process (e.g. ~/.ssh/authorized_keys, application files), leading to integrity loss and potential service disruption.

The same sink class was present in the main solver MCP server (saveVectorToFile / loadVectorFromFile).

Affected versions

consciousness-explorer < 1.1.2
sublinear-time-solver < 1.6.0
sublinear (crates.io) < 0.2.0

Patches

consciousness-explorer@1.1.2
sublinear-time-solver@1.6.0
sublinear@0.2.0

State/vector files are now confined to a dedicated directory (overridable via $CONSCIOUSNESS_EXPLORER_STATE_DIR / $SUBLINEAR_SOLVER_VECTOR_DIR), a basename-only contract is enforced (rejecting separators, .., NUL/control chars, hidden files, and Windows reserved names), and files are opened with O_NOFOLLOW | O_CLOEXEC mode 0o600. Covered by 14 regression tests in tests/consciousness/safe-path.test.mjs.

Breaking change: callers must now pass a basename, not an absolute path.

Workarounds

Do not expose the MCP server to untrusted clients; restrict export_state to trusted local users; run the server under a low-privilege account with a restricted working directory.

Severity

7.1 (High)


                  
                    CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

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{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "name": "consciousness-explorer"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1.1.2"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "name": "sublinear-time-solver"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1.6.0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-55609"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-73"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-08-25T18:35:32Z",
    "nvd_published_at": null,
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "### Impact\nAn arbitrary file write vulnerability (CWE-73, External Control of File Name or Path) exists in the `consciousness-explorer` component of `sublinear-time-solver`. The MCP `export_state` (and `import_state`) tool accepted a user-supplied `filepath` argument and passed it directly to `fs.writeFileSync` / `fs.readFileSync` without constraining the destination or rejecting path traversal. An attacker able to invoke the MCP tool could write or overwrite any file accessible to the server process (e.g. `~/.ssh/authorized_keys`, application files), leading to integrity loss and potential service disruption.\n\nThe same sink class was present in the main solver MCP server (`saveVectorToFile` / `loadVectorFromFile`).\n\n### Affected versions\n- `consciousness-explorer` \u003c 1.1.2\n- `sublinear-time-solver` \u003c 1.6.0\n- `sublinear` (crates.io) \u003c 0.2.0\n\n### Patches\n- `consciousness-explorer@1.1.2`\n- `sublinear-time-solver@1.6.0`\n- `sublinear@0.2.0`\n\nState/vector files are now confined to a dedicated directory (overridable via `$CONSCIOUSNESS_EXPLORER_STATE_DIR` / `$SUBLINEAR_SOLVER_VECTOR_DIR`), a basename-only contract is enforced (rejecting separators, `..`, NUL/control chars, hidden files, and Windows reserved names), and files are opened with `O_NOFOLLOW | O_CLOEXEC` mode `0o600`. Covered by 14 regression tests in `tests/consciousness/safe-path.test.mjs`.\n\n**Breaking change:** callers must now pass a basename, not an absolute path.\n\n### Workarounds\nDo not expose the MCP server to untrusted clients; restrict `export_state` to trusted local users; run the server under a low-privilege account with a restricted working directory.",
  "id": "GHSA-xc9g-j69q-37xw",
  "modified": "2026-08-25T18:35:32Z",
  "published": "2026-08-25T18:35:32Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/security/advisories/GHSA-xc9g-j69q-37xw"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/BruceJqs/public_exp/issues/32"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/issues/19"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/pull/20"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/commit/a701296e363192be863e79d788fa268095e3d229"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/commit/ea9a212b69e4449ec443fe088a7aec7546f70b4a"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/releases/tag/v1.6.0"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "consciousness-explorer / sublinear-time-solver MCP export_state has an arbitrary file write"
}

CVE-2026-55609 (GCVE-0-2026-55609)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-25 18:34 – Updated: 2026-08-26 15:41

Title

sublinear-time-solver: Arbitrary file write in consciousness-explorer / sublinear-time-solver MCP export_state

Summary

sublinear-time-solver is a Rust and WebAssembly library for solving asymmetric diagonally dominant systems in sublinear time. Prior to consciousness-explorer 1.1.2 and sublinear-time-solver 1.6.0, the export_state and import_state tools in src/consciousness-explorer/mcp/server.js pass the attacker-controlled filepath parameter to filesystem operations in src/consciousness-explorer/index.js without restricting the destination or rejecting traversal. The saveVectorToFile and loadVectorFromFile tools in src/mcp/server.ts contain the same sink class through the file_path parameter. An attacker able to invoke the MCP tools can read, write, or overwrite any file accessible to the server process, causing confidentiality and integrity loss and possible service disruption. This issue is fixed in consciousness-explorer 1.1.2 and sublinear-time-solver 1.6.0.

Severity

7.1 (High)


                        
                          CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

SSVC

Exploitation: poc Automatable: no Technical Impact: partial

CISA Coordinator · CISA-ADP (v2.0.3)

Decision recorded 2026-08-26 15:41 UTC

CWE

CWE-73 - External Control of File Name or Path

Assigner

GitHub_M mitre root Scorecard

References

7 references

URL	Tags
https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/s…	x_refsource_CONFIRM
https://github.com/BruceJqs/public_exp/issues/32	x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/i…	x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/pull/20	x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/c…	x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/c…	x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/ruvnet/sublinear-time-solver/r…	x_refsource_MISC

Impacted products

1 product

Vendor	Product	Version
ruvnet	sublinear-time-solver	Affected: < 1.6.0

Show details on NVD website

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{
  "containers": {
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        "metrics": [
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                "id": "CVE-2026-55609",
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                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-08-26T15:41:42.089174Z",
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          "versions": [
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            }
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      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "sublinear-time-solver is a Rust and WebAssembly library for solving asymmetric diagonally dominant systems in sublinear time. Prior to consciousness-explorer 1.1.2 and sublinear-time-solver 1.6.0, the export_state and import_state tools in src/consciousness-explorer/mcp/server.js pass the attacker-controlled filepath parameter to filesystem operations in src/consciousness-explorer/index.js without restricting the destination or rejecting traversal. The saveVectorToFile and loadVectorFromFile tools in src/mcp/server.ts contain the same sink class through the file_path parameter. An attacker able to invoke the MCP tools can read, write, or overwrite any file accessible to the server process, causing confidentiality and integrity loss and possible service disruption. This issue is fixed in consciousness-explorer 1.1.2 and sublinear-time-solver 1.6.0."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
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          "cvssV3_1": {
            "attackComplexity": "LOW",
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            "confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
            "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
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}

Sightings

Author	Source	Type	Date	Other

Nomenclature

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Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.

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The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
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