# CVE-2026-82020: Hermes Agent improper path restriction in file-write tooling

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-82020-hermes-agent-improper-path-restriction-in-file-write-tooling  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-08-28. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-82020 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.8 · Published 2026-08-28

Hermes Agent is an AI agent that executes file operations based on user-supplied instructions. A vulnerability in versions prior to 0.17.0 allows attackers to overwrite the credential store (auth.json) through crafted messages, bypassing path-protection guards. An attacker who can influence the messages processed by the agent can steal or tamper with credentials used for authentication.

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-82020 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-82020 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-82020?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.8, published 28 August 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Nous Research Hermes Agent 0.16.0 prior to 0.17.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-82020?** A patch was published on 2026-08-28: Fixed in version 0.17.0 Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-82020 attacked?** It is attacked over the network.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-82020?** Check whether anything you run is named in the advisory. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

Hermes Agent 0.16.0 and prior versions contain an improper path restriction vulnerability in the file-write tooling that enables unauthorized modification of the credential store (auth.json). The vulnerability arises from incomplete path-based protection guards that excluded auth.json from sensitive-path checks while other credential files were protected. An attacker who can influence ingested message content can craft malicious instructions to the agent's file-write functions (cp, mv, install, tee, or redirection) to overwrite the credential store without triggering approval gates. The agent's approval system used DANGEROUS_PATTERNS regex to block writes to sensitive targets, but the patterns were asymmetrically applied—redirection and tee operations were gated, but equivalent copy/move/install operations were not. Patches in 0.17.0 (commits 2b67e96 and da28d5d) extend DANGEROUS_PATTERNS to cover cp/mv/install operations against the full set of sensitive write targets including credential files.

## Affected products

- Nous Research Hermes Agent 0.16.0 prior to 0.17.0

## Timeline

- 2026-08-28: disclosed
- 2026-08-28: patched: Fixed in version 0.17.0

## References

- [https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/commit/2b67e96aec2aa2abd5e94b544cda8e564c75f9f5](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/commit/2b67e96aec2aa2abd5e94b544cda8e564c75f9f5)
- [https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/commit/da28d5d113956dcf803d5cff552a120740a96a59](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/commit/da28d5d113956dcf803d5cff552a120740a96a59)