DeepSeek Harness: Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision
CVE-2026-82533 is a critical-severity reliance on untrusted inputs in a security decision vulnerability in DeepSeek Harness from DeepSeek, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.6 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, but only if a user takes part, for example by opening a link or file. The record lists version 0.1.2-alpha.1 as the first without the flaw, so updating DeepSeek Harness to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.24% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 70% of scored CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Update DeepSeek Harness to 0.1.2-alpha.1 or a later version.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
- Because the attack needs a user to take part, warn users about unexpected links and files related to this product until it is patched.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek Harness | before 0.1.2-alpha.1 | 0.1.2-alpha.1 |
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
- RequiredA user must take an action such as opening a file or link.
- Scope
- ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
- 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:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (vulncheck.com).
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | 9.4 | Critical | CNA (vulncheck.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.6 | Critical | CNA (vulncheck.com) |
Official description
DeepSeek Harness before 0.1.2-alpha.1 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability that grants unauthenticated access to its local HTTP agent-control API by accepting a client-supplied loopback Host header in place of validating the actual TCP connection origin. On the default configuration, a confined tool-executed process can reach the loopback API without any port exposure and use it to escape its own OS sandbox, escalate to unconfined execution, and disable the approval prompt. When the port is externally reachable via tunnel, SSH forward, or reverse proxy, a remote attacker can exploit the same flaw to create sessions, execute arbitrary commands, and exfiltrate stored conversation transcripts without credentials.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision
The product uses a protection mechanism that relies on the existence or values of an input, but the input can be modified by an untrusted actor in a way that bypasses the protection mechanism.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. With a stateless protocol such as HTTP, use a framework that maintains the state for you. Examples include ASP.NET View State and the OWASP ESAPI Session Management feature. Be careful of language features that provide state support, since these might be provided as a convenience to the programmer and may not be considering security.
- For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
- When using PHP, configure the application so that it does not use register_globals. During implementation, develop the application so that it does not rely on this feature, but be wary of implementing a register_globals emulation that is subject to weaknesses such as CWE-95, CWE-621, and similar issues.
More Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision vulnerabilities (CWE-807)
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
Patches and release notes
Other references
Recent Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision vulnerabilities
- 9.0 Critical severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 8.5 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.1 High severity
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