# CVE-2026-109965: Serena before 2.0.0 Symlink Following in File Tools Allows Access Outside Project Root

> Attackers can read or overwrite sensitive files outside the project root by committing symlinks, exposing SSH keys and credentials.

- **Severity:** High 8.4 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 13 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-f7x4-jgqg-5mc6

## What is CVE-2026-109965?

CVE-2026-109965 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in oraios serena, published on 13 Oct 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Serena before 2.0.0 contains an improper link resolution vulnerability that allows attackers to access files outside the project root by committing symlinks inside a repository. Project.is_path_in_project() normalizes paths lexically without resolving symlinks, so file tools like read_file and create_text_file can read or overwrite files such as SSH keys or cloud credentials.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-109965?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-109965?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-109965 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-109965 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-109965 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-109965 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-109965 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in oraios serena, published on 13 Oct 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-109965 exists.

Affected product: oraios serena. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-109965/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-109965/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-109965
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-109965
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-109965

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-109965/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.