CVE-2026-49986
HighCVSS 7.1Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk7th percentile - higher than 7% of all known CVEs
Summary
The Cortex MCP server (neuro-cortex-memory) before version 3.17.1 treats the CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR environment variable as a trusted Cortex source. An attacker can place marker files in a malicious repository, leading to arbitrary code execution via the open_visualization tool.
Risk Assessment
A user may be tricked into executing malicious code with their process privileges, potentially leading to system compromise.
Recommendation
It is recommended to upgrade to version 3.17.1, which fixes this vulnerability.
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Original NVD description (English source)
The Cortex MCP server (`neuro-cortex-memory`), a cross-platform persistent memory MCP, prior to version 3.17.1 treats the `CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR` environment variable — automatically set by Claude Code to the currently open project directory — as a trusted Cortex developer checkout. When the `open_visualization` tool is invoked, `_find_dev_source()` resolves the user's active project directory as a candidate Cortex source root. The only validation performed by `_is_cortex_root()` is a check for the presence of an `mcp_server/` subdirectory and a `ui/unified-viz.html` file. An attacker who places these two marker files in a malicious repository can cause Cortex to execute an arbitrary `mcp_server/server/visualize_bootstrap.py` from that directory via `subprocess.run([sys.executable, ...])`, achieving code execution with the privileges of the victim's local user process. Version 3.17.1 fixes the issue.
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS

