Kedro: Path Traversal in versioned dataset loading via unsanitized version string

Impact

The _get_versioned_path() method in kedro/io/core.py constructs filesystem paths by directly interpolating user-supplied version strings without sanitization. Because version strings are used as path components, traversal sequences such as ../ are preserved and can escape the intended versioned dataset directory.

This is reachable through multiple entry points: catalog.load(..., version=...), DataCatalog.from_config(..., load_versions=...), and the CLI via kedro run --load-versions=dataset:../../../secrets. An attacker who can influence the version string can force Kedro to load files from outside the intended version directory, enabling unauthorized file reads, data poisoning, or cross-tenant data access in shared environments.

Patches

Yes. Fixed in kedro version 1.3.0. Users should upgrade to kedro >= 1.3.0.

Workarounds

Validate version strings before passing them to DataCatalog or the CLI, ensuring they do not contain .. segments, path separators, or absolute paths.