Summary
Strands Agents: Default FileSessionManager storage is world-readable on shared systems
There is a local confidentiality issue in the default FileSessionManager storage behavior. By default it writes session data under /tmp/strands/sessions and relies on the process umask for directory and file permissions. On systems using the common umask 022, the session directories are 0755 and JSON files are 0644, so other local users can read persisted agent session data.
This matters on shared developer machines, CI hosts, notebooks, jump boxes, and multi-user GPU servers. Session storage is intended to persist conversation/history/state, so it can contain prompts, model output, tool inputs/outputs, intermediate state, and secrets that pass through the agent.
Relevant code:
strands-py/src/strands/session/file_session_manager.py:58: default storage path isos.path.join(tempfile.gettempdir(), "strands/sessions").strands-py/src/strands/session/file_session_manager.py:118: creates parent directories without a private mode.strands-py/src/strands/session/file_session_manager.py:121: writes JSON files via normalopen(..., "w").strands-py/src/strands/session/file_session_manager.py:131: creates session directories without a private mode.
Local reproduction with umask 022:
default_storage_dir= /tmp/strands/sessions
0o755 /tmp/strands/sessions
0o755 /tmp/strands/sessions/session_codex_perm_poc
0o644 /tmp/strands/sessions/session_codex_perm_poc/session.json
file_contains_secret= True
The fixture wrote a fake secret into the session dict to show that sensitive session fields are readable through the resulting file.
Suggested fixes:
- Use a private per-user data directory by default rather than
/tmp, or create/tmp/strandsand descendants with0700. - Write session JSON atomically with
0600permissions. - Consider refusing to use an existing default storage directory if it is not owned by the current user or is group/world accessible.
- Document that callers should set
storage_direxplicitly when they need shared storage.
This was reproduced on commit dd7b41de38cb.
Impact
Affected versions
Security releases
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-763V-5PJM-FX36? GHSA-763V-5PJM-FX36 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in strands-agents (pip), affecting versions < 1.48.0. It is fixed in 1.48.0.
- Which versions of strands-agents are affected by GHSA-763V-5PJM-FX36? strands-agents (pip) versions < 1.48.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-763V-5PJM-FX36? Yes. GHSA-763V-5PJM-FX36 is fixed in 1.48.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-763V-5PJM-FX36 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-763V-5PJM-FX36 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 GHSA-763V-5PJM-FX36 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 GHSA-763V-5PJM-FX36? Upgrade
strands-agentsto 1.48.0 or later.