cursor: Improper Handling of Case Sensitivity
CVE-2025-59944 is a critical-severity improper handling of case sensitivity vulnerability in cursor, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected cursor versions: < 1.7. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.51% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Check which version of cursor you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 8.0 | High | CNA (github.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.8 | Critical | NVD |
Official description
Cursor is a code editor built for programming with AI. Versions 1.6.23 and below contain case-sensitive checks in the way Cursor IDE protects its sensitive files (e.g., */.cursor/mcp.json), which allows attackers to modify the content of these files through prompt injection and achieve remote code execution. A prompt injection can lead to full RCE through modifying sensitive files on case-insensitive fileystems. This issue is fixed in version 1.7.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Improper Handling of Case Sensitivity
The product does not properly account for differences in case sensitivity when accessing or determining the properties of a resource, leading to inconsistent results.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Avoid making decisions based on names of resources (e.g. files) if those resources can have alternate names.
- Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174). Such errors could be used to bypass allowlist validation schemes by introducing dangerous inputs after they have been checked.
More Improper Handling of Case Sensitivity vulnerabilities (CWE-178)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other vulnerabilities in cursor
- 7.7 High severity
- 7.7 High severity
- 7.7 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.5 High severity
Recent Improper Handling of Case Sensitivity vulnerabilities
- 7.3 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
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