CVE-2026-53766 chrome-devtools-mcp: validatePath() does not canonicalize symlinks before enforcing roots
Attackers can bypass workspace restrictions to read or write files outside the allowed directory via symlink manipulation in Chrome DevTools MCP.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-53766?
CVE-2026-53766 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in ChromeDevTools chrome-devtools-mcp, published on 24 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Chrome DevTools for agents (chrome-devtools-mcp) lets your coding agent control and inspect a live Chrome browser. From 0.24.0 until 1.1.0, McpContext.validatePath() enforces workspace roots by checking whether path.resolve(filePath) textually falls under one of the configured root paths. path.resolve() does not canonicalize symbolic links. As a result, a symlink inside a configured workspace root can point to a file outside that root, pass validation, and then be followed by downstream file read/write operations. This bypass applies even when the MCP client correctly declares the roots capability with a non-empty list. It is separate from the documented legacy behavior where missing roots capability allows all paths. The practical impact is a workspace-boundary bypass. In the write direction, filePath-writing tools can overwrite out-of-root files through an in-root symlink. In the read direction, upload_file can read through the symlink and send the file to the currently selected web page. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.1.0.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53766?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including chrome-devtools-mcp. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
chrome-devtools-mcp npm | From 0.24.0 | 1.1.0 |
chrome-devtools-mcp npm | From 0.24.0 | 1.1.0 |
Products include Google Chrome-Devtools-Mcp.
How do I fix CVE-2026-53766?
Upgrade chrome-devtools-mcp to 1.1.0 or later.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-53766 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-53766 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in ChromeDevTools chrome-devtools-mcp
Sources
Also known as GHSA-8qf9-62x2-82pp.