Vulnerability in Nousresearch Hermes-Agent
CVE-2026-82020
Hermes Agent 0.16.0 prior to 0.17.0 contains an improper path restriction vulnerability that allows attackers who can influence ingested message content to overwrite the credential store by bypassing sensitive-path guards that excluded the auth.json file. Attackers can craft malicious messages directing the agent's file-write tooling to overwrite the credential store without triggering any path-based protection, enabling credential tampering or unauthorized access.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 6.8 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.004 (35.9th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 36th percentile — 35.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.004 · change: +0.001
Affected products
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/releases/tag/v2026.6.19 (release-notes)
- github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/45821 (issue-tracking, patch)
- github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/commit/da28d5d113956dcf803d5cff552a120740a… (patch)
- github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/commit/2b67e96aec2aa2abd5e94b544cda8e564c7… (patch)
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/hermes-agent-credential-store-overwrite-via-file-w… (third-party-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-82020?
- CVE-2026-82020 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Nousresearch Hermes-Agent, classified under Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties. CVSS score: 6.8/10. Published 2026-08-28.
- How severe is CVE-2026-82020?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.8 out of 10.