GitHub Advisoryadvisory · npm
GHSA-jjhp-8crj-mppq @roomi-fields/notebooklm-mcp has a path traversal in vault.batch tool that allows arbitrary file write outside intended vault directory
HIGH
Official page ↗
- Aliases
- CVE-2026-61647
- Ecosystem
- npm
- Packages
- @roomi-fields/notebooklm-mcp
- Severity
- High
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- Weaknesses
- CWE-22, CWE-73
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-22
Affected packages
• npm @roomi-fields/notebooklm-mcp: >= 1.6.0, < 2.0.3 → fixed in 2.0.3
Description
Summary
The `vault_batch` MCP tool (and the equivalent `POST /batch-to-vault` HTTP endpoint) accepted a caller-supplied `vault_dir` path that was passed directly to `path.resolve()` + `fs.mkdir()` with no containment check. A caller — or a prompt-injected LLM driving the MCP — could therefore create directories and write `.md` / `.json` answer files anywhere the server process can write.
The `slug_prefix` parameter had a parallel, smaller traversal vector: it was concatenated into the filename without sanitization, so a prefix containing `/` or `..` could escape the resolved vault directory through the filename component.
Impact
File write (markdown + JSON sidecars) to any location writable by the server process. The written files are inert content (no code execution by themselves), but in a multi-user context — or when the MCP server is driven by an LLM that has read untrusted content (prompt injection) — this allows an attacker to plant files in sensitive locations (autostart folders, shell startup files, etc.) for downstream exploitation.
The vulnerability exists from v1.6.0 (when the HTTP `/batch-to-vault` endpoint was introduced) and v1.7.0 (when the same logic was exposed as the `batch_to_vault` MCP tool) through v2.0.2.
Patch
Fixed in v2.0.3:
• Opt-in containment via `NOTEBOOKLM_VAULT_ROOT` env var. When set, `vault_dir` is resolved relative to that root and `realpath`-based containment is enforced. Absolute paths or `..` segments outside the root are rejected with a clear error.
• `slug_prefix` is always sanitized. Path separators (`/`, `\`), `..` sequences and NUL bytes are stripped, length capped at 64 characters. This applies regardless of whether `NOTEBOOKLM_VAULT_ROOT` is set.
• 15 unit tests in `src/__tests__/vault-writer.test.ts` cover the escape vectors (absolute paths, sibling-prefix attacks, `..` traversal, NUL/separator stripping).
Workarounds for users who cannot upgrade
• Run the MCP server under a dedicated unprivileged user with write access only to the intended vault directory.
• Do not expose the HTTP `/batch-to-vault` endpoint beyond localhost.
• If using an LLM that ingests untrusted content, validate any `vault_dir` arguments before forwarding them to the MCP.
Configuration requirement after upgrade (important)
v2.0.3 preserves the legacy unrestricted behaviour when `NOTEBOOKLM_VAULT_ROOT` is unset, to keep existing single-user local setups working. To enable containment, set `NOTEBOOKLM_VAULT_ROOT` in the server environment to a directory that should bound all vault writes.
Credit
Reported by @mcfly-zzh — thanks for the careful diagnosis and follow-up verification.
Related
Alias · CVE (1)
- CVE-2026-61647 NotebookLM MCP is an MCP server and HTTP service for interacting with Google NotebookLM and exporting generated content to local vault… vulnerability
References
- https://github.com/roomi-fields/notebooklm-mcp/security/advisories/GHSA-jjhp-8crj-mppq web
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-61647 advisory
- https://github.com/roomi-fields/notebooklm-mcp/issues/15 web
- https://github.com/roomi-fields/notebooklm-mcp/commit/13828d9ff3933839ce14c1797d3b20a6bb7694a6 web
- https://github.com/roomi-fields/notebooklm-mcp package
- https://github.com/roomi-fields/notebooklm-mcp/releases/tag/v2.0.3 web