Executive brief
Redocly CLI is a command-line tool that developers use to validate and document API specifications. The respect command in Redocly CLI dynamically evaluates special runtime expressions in API descriptions, which could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a developer's machine if they process a malicious API file. This could enable credential theft, data exfiltration, or CI/CD pipeline compromise.
Technical details
The vulnerability is a prototype pollution and arbitrary code execution flaw in the $faker expression handler within @redocly/respect-core. When processing Arazzo descriptions, the respect command dynamically evaluates $faker expressions through a context parser (packages/respect-core/src/modules/context-parser/get-value-from-context.ts) that fails to properly restrict property traversal. An attacker can craft a malicious expression that accesses constructor, prototype, or __proto__ properties to reach the JavaScript Function constructor and execute arbitrary code. The attack requires the user to process an untrusted API description file; developers processing only self-authored workflows are unaffected. The vulnerability is fixed in @redocly/respect-core and @redocly/cli version 2.33.0 or later.
Affected products
- Redocly @redocly/respect-core prior to 2.33.0
- Redocly @redocly/cli prior to 2.33.0
Timeline
- 2026-09-16: disclosed
- 2026-06-15: patched: Fix merged in repository on June 15, 2026; likely released as version 2.33.0