Executive brief
MindsDB, an open-source platform for connecting AI models to databases, contains a vulnerability in its file upload interface. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this to read sensitive files from the server's filesystem and move them into MindsDB's internal storage. This could lead to the exposure of private credentials or configuration data and potentially cause a denial of service by relocating critical system files.
Technical details
A path traversal vulnerability exists in the PUT handler of MindsDB's file upload API (file.py). When processing JSON request bodies where 'source_type' is not set to 'url', the application uses os.path.join on user-controlled 'file' parameters without validation. Because os.path.join returns an absolute path if the second argument is absolute, an attacker can bypass the intended temporary directory. The application then reads the targeted file and uses shutil.move to relocate it into MindsDB's managed storage. This allows unauthenticated remote attackers to exfiltrate sensitive files (e.g., /etc/passwd) or cause a denial of service by moving critical system files. The issue is patched in version 25.11.1.
Affected products
- MindsDB MindsDB < 25.11.1
Timeline
- 2026-01-11: disclosed
- 2026-01-12: advisory
- 2026-01-12: patched: Version 25.11.1 released