Vulnerability · Published Jul 23, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck

CVE-2026-65700h2oGPT 0.2.1 Path Traversal via OpenAI-compatible Files API

Critical 9.8

In plain English

A critical-severity path traversal in h2ogpt from h2oai. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 1.5% (higher than 75% of all known vulnerabilities).

Severity (CVSS 3.1)9.8Critical

Exploit odds (30 days)1.5%top 25.3% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: poc

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

h2oGPT through 0.2.1 contains a path traversal vulnerability in the OpenAI-compatible files API that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read, write, and delete arbitrary files accessible to the server process by supplying traversal sequences in the bearer token. The get_user_dir function in openai_server/backend_utils.py uses the bearer token string unsanitized as a path component via os.path.join, and because the default API key is EMPTY authentication is bypassed, enabling attackers to traverse outside the intended user directory through the file content, delete, and upload endpoints to achieve remote code execution by writing to startup hooks or application-loaded files.

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
h2oai	h2ogpt	0 – through 0.2.1

Weakness: CWE-22 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

Researcher Disclosure technical-description, exploit
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/h2ogpt-path-traversal-via-openai-compatible-files-api third-party-advisory