Executive brief
ChromaDB is an open-source vector database used to store and manage data for AI applications. A security flaw in its Rust-based components allows any logged-in user to access, modify, or delete data belonging to other customers (tenants) if they know the unique identifier for a data collection. This could lead to unauthorized data exposure or loss in shared environments where multiple organizations use the same database infrastructure.
Technical details
An Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability exists in the Rust-based frontend and backend implementations of ChromaDB (including SQLite and Spanner backends). The root cause is that collection lookups performed via UUID skip tenant and database validation filters. In the Rust SQLite backend, the database parameter is dropped during the `get_collection_with_segments` call, while the Spanner backend's SQL query lacks a tenant filter clause entirely. An attacker with network access and valid credentials can bypass tenant isolation to manipulate any collection by providing its UUID. This affects distributed deployments and Chroma Cloud environments.
Affected products
- ChromaDB ChromaDB Rust project 1.0.0 or later
Timeline
- 2026-02-17: disclosed: Initial disclosure to ChromaDB vendor.
- 2026-05-18: other: Public disclosure of a related vulnerability after no vendor response.
- 2026-06-12: advisory: Full advisory published by HiddenLayer.