Vulnerabilities & Exploits

ChromaDB Model Trust Bug Opens Pre-Auth Server Takeover

ChromaDB is treating client-supplied model identifiers as trusted input before auth, so exposed instances can hand attackers shell access before any login check runs. That turns the model-selection path into code execution, and patching later does not undo the secrets a hostile request can read on the way in.

SecurityWeek reports the unpatched flaw as CVE-2026-45829 in ChromaDB 1.5.8. HiddenLayer says exploitation can leak API keys, environment variables, mounted secrets, and files on disk, and that the issue affects all ChromaDB releases since 1.0.0 across a large share of internet-exposed deployments.

The practical risk is broader than a single database service outage. Any AI stack exposing ChromaDB may inherit server-level secret exposure and persistence of stolen data long after the vulnerable endpoint is fixed.

3 sources · May 22

CVE-2026-45829

NVD KEV

EPSS 12% (96th percentile).

Timeline

Sources

Part of the PlainSec briefing for 2026-05-20

Every edition of this story: ChromaDB Model Trust Bug Opens Pre-Auth Server Takeover

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