Summary
ouroboros-ai Vulnerable to Remote Code Execution via Untrusted Project-Directory .env
Workarounds
If upgrading is not immediately possible, users must carefully inspect any .env file inside cloned repositories before running Ouroboros commands to ensure it does not contain unexpected OUROBOROS_*_CLI_PATH or OPENCODE_CLI_PATH overrides.
References
- GitHub PR: https://github.com/Q00/ouroboros/pull/1078
Impact
A Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability was discovered in Ouroboros. If a user clones a malicious repository and runs Ouroboros commands within that directory, it can lead to arbitrary code execution and potential system takeover.
The vulnerability (CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path & CWE-15: External Control of System Setting) stems from Ouroboros loading the .env file from the current working directory. Prior to the patch, execution-affecting environment variables such as OUROBOROS_CLI_PATH, OPENCODE_CLI_PATH, and other backend selectors were accepted directly from this local .env. An attacker could include a malicious script in the repository and point the CLI path variable to it (e.g., OUROBOROS_CLI_PATH=./malicious_script.sh). When the user executes a command like ouroboros init or any command that instantiates the adapter, the malicious script is executed instead of the intended CLI.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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The vulnerability has been patched in version 0.39.0 via PR #1078.
The fix establishes a strict trust boundary by applying a denylist to project-local .env loading. It blocks execution-affecting environment variables (such as runtime selectors and CLI path overrides) from being loaded from the project directory. Explicit constructor overrides and trusted user-owned home configurations (~/.ouroboros/.env) remain fully functional.
Users are strongly advised to upgrade to version 0.39.0 or later.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-47211? CVE-2026-47211 is a high-severity security vulnerability in ouroboros-ai (pip), affecting versions < 0.39.0. It is fixed in 0.39.0.
- Which versions of ouroboros-ai are affected by CVE-2026-47211? ouroboros-ai (pip) versions < 0.39.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-47211? Yes. CVE-2026-47211 is fixed in 0.39.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-47211 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-47211 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-47211 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-47211? Upgrade
ouroboros-aito 0.39.0 or later.