Executive brief
Flowise is an AI workflow platform that includes a ReadFileTool component allowing large language models to access files on the server. The tool fails to validate file paths, enabling authenticated users to read any file on the system—including encryption keys, databases, and SSH credentials—potentially leading to account compromise and lateral movement.
Technical details
The vulnerability is a path traversal / arbitrary file read in the ReadFileTool component (packages/components/nodes/tools/ReadFile/ReadFile.ts). The tool accepts a user-supplied file_path parameter and passes it directly to the underlying file store without validating whether the path is within an allowed directory. An authenticated attacker can exploit this to read sensitive files such as /root/.flowise/encryption.key, /root/.flowise/database.sqlite, /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, and SSH keys. The vulnerability requires authentication (attackers must register an account first) but no additional user interaction. The fix is available in version 3.0.8 and later.
Affected products
- Flowise Flowise <=3.0.5
Timeline
- 2025-10-08: disclosed
- 2025-10-08: patched: Version 3.0.8 and later patch the vulnerability