Technical impact
A flaw in hermes-agent's _check_sensitive_path allows a local attacker to create a symbolic link that points to a protected file or directory, causing the agent to follow the link and read or write the target. The vulnerability matches CWE‑59 and CWE‑61. If the agent runs with elevated privileges, an attacker can read, modify or delete arbitrary files, leading to data disclosure, integrity compromise, or local privilege escalation.
Affected Systems
The vulnerability affects NousResearch hermes-agent version 0.8.0, specifically the file_tools.py module. No earlier versions are explicitly mentioned, but versions before 0.9.0 are presumed affected until patched. The vendor is NousResearch and the product is hermes-agent.
Risk and Exploitability
The CVSS score of 4.8 indicates moderate severity, and no EPSS score is available. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalogue, so no known active exploitation is reported. The exploit requires local access. If the agent runs with privileged rights, the flaw could allow local privilege escalation or unrestricted file system access. Mitigation is most effective by applying the vendor’s patch.
