# CVE-2026-49986

## Summary

- **CVE ID:** CVE-2026-49986
- **Severity:** HIGH
- **CVSS Score:** 7.1 (CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P)
- **CWE:** CWE-829
- **Published:** Aug 14, 2026
- **Last Modified:** Aug 17, 2026

## Description

The Cortex MCP server (`neuro-cortex-memory`), a cross-platform persistent memory MCP, prior to version 3.17.1 treats the `CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR` environment variable — automatically set by Claude Code to the currently open project directory — as a trusted Cortex developer checkout. When the `open_visualization` tool is invoked, `_find_dev_source()` resolves the user's active project directory as a candidate Cortex source root. The only validation performed by `_is_cortex_root()` is a check for the presence of an `mcp_server/` subdirectory and a `ui/unified-viz.html` file. An attacker who places these two marker files in a malicious repository can cause Cortex to execute an arbitrary `mcp_server/server/visualize_bootstrap.py` from that directory via `subprocess.run([sys.executable, ...])`, achieving code execution with the privileges of the victim's local user process. Version 3.17.1 fixes the issue.

## Affected Products

- cdeust — Cortex (< 3.17.1)

## References

- [CNA](https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/security/advisories/GHSA-gvpp-v77h-5w8g)
- [CNA](https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/releases/tag/v3.17.1)
- [CNA](https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/neuro-cortex-memory/PYSEC-2026-2676.yaml)

## Exploitation Prediction (EPSS)

- **EPSS Score:** 0.11%
- **EPSS Percentile:** 1.6

---
_Exported from OnDuty AI Vulnerability Intelligence on 2026-09-11._