CVE-2026-59863 in Kiota
Summary
by MITRE • 07/16/2026
Kiota is an OpenAPI based HTTP Client code generator. Prior to 1.32.5, Kiota honored a poisoned .kiota/workspace.json workspace configuration without validating per-client or per-plugin outputPath values during kiota client generate and kiota plugin generate, allowing a malicious repository or pull request to use absolute paths, rooted POSIX / paths, UNC \\ or // paths, Windows drive X:\ paths, or .. traversal segments to write generated client files outside the workspace root on a developer or CI host. This issue is fixed in version 1.32.5.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/16/2026
The vulnerability identified in Kiota versions prior to 1.32.5 represents a critical path traversal and directory traversal security flaw that undermines the integrity of the code generation process. This issue stems from insufficient validation of workspace configuration files, specifically the .kiota/workspace.json file which serves as the central configuration point for all client and plugin generation operations. The flaw allows malicious actors to manipulate the outputPath values through various path formats including absolute paths, UNC network paths, Windows drive specifications, and relative traversal segments that can escape the designated workspace boundaries.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs during two primary commands: kiota client generate and kiota plugin generate. When these commands execute, they process the workspace configuration without proper sanitization of the outputPath values, enabling attackers to specify malicious paths that bypass normal directory restrictions. This includes the ability to use rooted POSIX paths starting with /, UNC paths beginning with \\, Windows drive specifications like X:\, or directory traversal sequences such as ../ that can navigate outside the intended workspace root. The vulnerability essentially allows an attacker to control where generated files are written on the target system, potentially leading to arbitrary file creation in sensitive locations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple path manipulation and represents a significant risk to both development environments and continuous integration systems. In developer workstations, maliciously crafted workspace configurations could result in overwrite of critical system files or injection of harmful code into legitimate projects. When exploited within CI/CD pipelines, the implications are even more severe as attackers could potentially compromise build servers, inject malicious code into production artifacts, or gain unauthorized access to sensitive infrastructure components. The vulnerability affects any environment where Kiota processes workspace configurations, making it particularly dangerous in collaborative development scenarios where pull requests or repository modifications might contain malicious configuration data.
This security issue maps directly to CWE-23 (Relative Path Traversal) and CWE-73 (Path Traversal) classifications within the Common Weakness Enumeration framework, demonstrating a clear failure in input validation and path handling. The vulnerability also aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1059.001 (Command and Scripting Interpreter - PowerShell), T1566.001 (Phishing - Spearphishing Attachment), and T1078.004 (Valid Accounts - Cloud Accounts) as attackers could leverage this flaw to establish persistence or escalate privileges through compromised build processes. The fix implemented in version 1.32.5 addresses the root cause by introducing strict validation of all outputPath values during workspace processing, ensuring that generated files can only be written within the designated workspace boundaries regardless of the path format provided.
Organizations using Kiota should immediately upgrade to version 1.32.5 or later to mitigate this vulnerability, while also implementing additional security measures such as code review processes for workspace configuration files and monitoring for unauthorized file modifications in CI/CD environments. The vulnerability highlights the importance of input validation in automated tooling and demonstrates how seemingly benign configuration options can create significant security risks when proper sanitization and boundary checking are not implemented. Regular security assessments of development toolchains should include verification of path handling mechanisms to prevent similar issues from emerging in other code generation or automation tools that may be subject to similar exploitation vectors.