CVE-2025-54794: 
JavaScript vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Claude Code, an agentic coding tool developed by Anthropic, was found to contain a critical path validation vulnerability (CVE-2025-54794) in versions below 0.2.111. The vulnerability was discovered by security researcher Elad Beber from Cymulate during Anthropic's Research Preview phase and was disclosed on August 4, 2025. The flaw affects the core containment mechanism that restricts Claude Code's file operations to a designated working directory (GitHub Advisory, Cybersecurity News).

The vulnerability stems from a path validation flaw that uses prefix matching instead of canonical path comparison. When validating file paths, the system performs a simple prefix check that compares the resolved path against the current working directory (CWD). The vulnerability has received a CVSS v4.0 base score of 7.7 (High) with the vector string CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N. The weakness has been classified as CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory) (GitHub Advisory, GBHackers).

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows attackers to bypass directory restrictions and access files outside the intended Current Working Directory (CWD). When combined with symbolic links, this vulnerability could enable access to critical system files, potentially leading to privilege escalation in environments where Claude Code runs with elevated privileges (Cybersecurity News).

Anthropic has addressed this vulnerability in version 0.2.111 by implementing robust canonical path comparison. Users on standard Claude Code auto-update received this fix automatically after release. Current users of Claude Code are unaffected, as versions prior to 1.0.24 are deprecated and have been forced to update (GitHub Advisory).

The discovery highlighted critical challenges in AI system security, particularly how AI systems' analytical capabilities can be turned against their own security controls. The research community noted that this vulnerability represents a new cybersecurity paradigm where traditional security models may prove insufficient for AI-powered development tools (Cybersecurity News).