CVE-2026-109437
Received Received - Intake

Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution in Cognition

Publication date: 2026-10-19

Last updated on: 2026-10-19

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description
Cognition before 0.13.0 contains an unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability due to defaulting its agent sandbox backend to local execution and shipping no authentication on its REST/SSE API. Attackers can create a session via POST /sessions and post a message via POST /sessions/{id}/messages without credentials, causing the Deep Agents ReAct loop to run attacker-directed shell commands through the local shell backend, resulting in remote code execution as the server process.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-10-19
Last Modified
2026-10-19
Generated
2026-10-19
AI Q&A
2026-10-19
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-109437
EUVD
EUVD-2026-104570

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
CognicellAI Cognition 0

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-306 The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.
CWE-1188 The product initializes or sets a resource with a default that is intended to be changed by the product's installer, administrator, or maintainer, but the default is not secure.

Attack-Flow Graph

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Executive Summary

CVE-2026-109437 is an unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in Cognition versions before 0.13.0. The software defaults its agent sandbox backend to local shell execution and lacks authentication on its REST/SSE API. Attackers can create sessions and send messages without credentials, tricking the system into running arbitrary shell commands as the server process.

Detection Guidance

Check for unauthorized sessions created via POST /sessions or messages sent via POST /sessions/{id}/messages without authentication. Monitor for unexpected shell command execution by the Cognition server process. Review logs for REST/SSE API requests to these endpoints from untrusted sources.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on the server running Cognition. This could lead to full system compromise, data theft, unauthorized access to sensitive information, or disruption of services. The high CVSS score (9.2) indicates severe potential impact.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access or exfiltration of sensitive data, violating GDPR and HIPAA requirements for data protection and confidentiality. Organizations using vulnerable versions may face compliance violations, legal penalties, and reputational damage.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade to Cognition version 0.13.0 or later to address the insecure defaults and missing authentication. Ensure multi-tenant isolation is enforced and disable local shell backend execution if not required. Implement strict access controls for the REST/SSE API endpoints.

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