GitHub Advisoryadvisory · PyPI
GHSA-7h8w-hj9j-8rjw OpenHands is Vulnerable to Command Injection through its Git Diff Handler
HIGH
Official page ↗
- Aliases
- CVE-2026-33718
- Ecosystem
- PyPI
- Packages
- openhands-ai
- Severity
- High
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L
- Weaknesses
- CWE-78
- Reviewed
- 2026-03-25
Affected packages
• PyPI openhands-ai: < 1.5.0 → fixed in 1.5.0
Description
Summary
A Command Injection vulnerability exists in the `get_git_diff()` method at `openhands/runtime/utils/git_handler.py:134`. The `path` parameter from the `/api/conversations/{conversation_id}/git/diff` API endpoint is passed unsanitized to a shell command, allowing authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands in the agent sandbox. The user is already allowed to instruct the agent to execute commands, but this bypasses the normal channels.
---
Details
Vulnerable Code Path
The vulnerability flows through these files:
1. API Endpoint (`openhands/server/routes/files.py:267-277`)
```python
@app.get('/git/diff')
async def git_diff(
path: str, # dict[str, str]:
self.git_handler.set_cwd(cwd)
return self.git_handler.get_git_diff(file_path) # Passed directly
```
3. Vulnerable Method (`openhands/runtime/utils/git_handler.py:10-12, 134`)
```python
Command template with placeholder
GIT_DIFF_CMD = 'python3 /openhands/code/openhands/runtime/utils/git_diff.py "{file_path}"'
Line 134 - VULNERABLE: User input directly interpolated
result = self.execute(self.git_diff_cmd.format(file_path=file_path), self.cwd)
```
4. Shell Execution (`openhands/runtime/utils/git_diff.py:25-27`)
```python
def run(cmd: str, cwd: str) -> str:
result = subprocess.run(
args=cmd,
shell=True, # <-- Enables shell metacharacter interpretation
stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
cwd=cwd
)
```
Root Cause
The `file_path` parameter is directly interpolated into a shell command string using Python's `.format()` method without any sanitization. When this command is executed with `shell=True`, shell metacharacters like `"`, `;`, and `#` are interpreted, allowing command injection.
Example:
• Input: `test"; id #`
• Constructed command: `python3 /script.py "test"; id #"`
• Shell interprets as two commands: `python3 /script.py "test"` AND `id`
---
Impact
Who is Affected
• All OpenHands deployments exposing the `/api/conversations/{id}/git/diff` endpoint
• Any authenticated user can exploit this vulnerability,
Attack Capabilities
An attacker can:
1. Execute arbitrary commands on the runtime container as root
2. Read sensitive files including `.env`, API keys, source code
3. Write arbitrary files to inject malicious code
4. Establish reverse shells for persistent access
5. Potentially escape the container if Docker is misconfigured
Mitigation
Users should update to the latest version of OpenHands that includes the changes from PR #13051. The fix replaces direct shell string formatting with proper argument array handling or rigorous path sanitization to prevent command chaining.
Related
Alias · CVE (1)
- CVE-2026-33718 OpenHands is software for AI-driven development. vulnerability
Weakness · CWE (1)
- CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command weakness
References
- https://github.com/OpenHands/OpenHands/security/advisories/GHSA-7h8w-hj9j-8rjw web
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-33718 advisory
- https://github.com/OpenHands/OpenHands/pull/13051 web
- https://docs.python.org/3/library/shlex.html#shlex.quote web
- https://docs.python.org/3/library/subprocess.html#security-considerations web
- https://github.com/OpenHands/OpenHands package
- https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/openhands-ai/PYSEC-2026-106.yaml web
- https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/Command_Injection web