CVE-2025-59532 Codex has sandbox bypass due to bug in path configuration logic
A bug in Codex CLI allowed model-generated paths to bypass sandbox boundaries, enabling arbitrary file writes and command execution.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2025-59532?
CVE-2025-59532 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in openai codex, published on 22 Sep 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
Codex CLI is a coding agent from OpenAI that runs locally. In versions 0.2.0 to 0.38.0, due to a bug in the sandbox configuration logic, Codex CLI could treat a model-generated cwd as the sandbox’s writable root, including paths outside of the folder where the user started their session. This logic bypassed the intended workspace boundary and enables arbitrary file writes and command execution where the Codex process has permissions - this did not impact the network-disabled sandbox restriction. This issue has been patched in Codex CLI 0.39.0 that canonicalizes and validates that the boundary used for sandbox policy is based on where the user started the session, and not the one generated by the model. Users running 0.38.0 or earlier should update immediately via their package manager or by reinstalling the latest Codex CLI to ensure sandbox boundaries are enforced. If using the Codex IDE extension, users should immediately update to 0.4.12 for a fix of the sandbox issue.
Weakness: CWE-20
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-59532?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including @openai/codex.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
@openai/codex npm | From 0.2.0 | 0.39.0 |
@openai/codex npm | From 0.2.0 | 0.39.0 |
How do I fix CVE-2025-59532?
Upgrade @openai/codex to 0.39.0 or later.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2025-59532 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-59532 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Public exploit code: 1 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-w5fx-fh39-j5rw.