What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-45311: CodeWhale: run_tests Tool Enables RCE via Malicious Repository Without Approval

• Severity: critical (CVSS 9.6 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 0.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2026-05-28 · updated 2026-10-26
• Weakness: CWE-94

Description

CodeWhale is a DeepSeek + MiMo coding agent in terminal. From 0.3.0 to 0.8.23, the run_tests tool executes cargo test in the workspace with ApprovalRequirement::Auto, meaning it runs without any user approval prompt. cargo test compiles and executes arbitrary code: test binaries, build.rs build scripts, and proc macros. While auto-approving test execution is a deliberate design choice, it creates an inconsistency in the security boundary. However, in a malicious repository, test code can execute arbitrary shell commands, exfiltrate credentials, or establish persistence with zero approval. The attack is amplified by AGENTS.md (auto-loaded into the system prompt), which can instruct the model to run tests proactively at session start. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.8.23.

Affected products

• Hmbown CodeWhale: from 0.3.0, < 0.8.23

References

• https://github.com/Hmbown/CodeWhale/security/advisories/GHSA-wx44-2q6h-j6p8
• https://github.com/Hmbown/CodeWhale/security/advisories/GHSA-wx44-2q6h-j6p8

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