# CVE-2026-54520: AI Agent Automation: Workflow file step path traversal allows read and write outside the expected directory

> Authenticated users can exploit path traversal in workflow steps to read or write files outside the intended directory, potentially compromising sensitive data or application integrity.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 18 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-cm8g-8jfq-887p

## What is CVE-2026-54520?

CVE-2026-54520 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in vmDeshpande ai-agent-automation, published on 17 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

AI Agent Automation is a modular AI agent workflow automation platform with schedulers, tools, and observability. Prior to 0.9.1, the executeStep file-step implementation in backend/src/agents/executor.js passes the user-controlled step.path value through path.resolve with process.cwd() and then uses the resulting path for read or write operations without checking that it remains in an approved workflow directory. An authenticated user who can create or modify workflow file steps can supply traversal segments to escape the intended workspace and read sensitive files or write and overwrite files accessible to the backend process, including application-adjacent files when process permissions allow. This issue is fixed in version 0.9.1.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-54520?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-54520?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-54520 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-54520 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-54520 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- CVE-2026-54520 / GHSA-cm8g-8jfq-887p: ai-agent-automation workflow path traversal advisory landing page (github_poc): https://github.com/chaitanyagarware/CVE-2026-54520

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-54520 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-54520 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in vmDeshpande ai-agent-automation, published on 17 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-54520 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: vmDeshpande ai-agent-automation. 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-2026-54520/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54520/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-54520
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54520
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-54520

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54520/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.