CVE Intelligence
High Authentication

CVE-2026-53869 — Hermes Agent < 0.16.0 - DNS Rebinding Bypass via WebSocket Endpoints

Hermes Agent before 0.16.0 contains a DNS rebinding vulnerability in WebSocket endpoints that allows remote attackers to bypass Host and Origin validation. FastAPI HTTP middleware does not execute for WebSocket upgrade requests on /api/pty, /api/ws, /api/pub, and /api/events endpoints, enabling attackers to exploit DNS rebinding and inject malicious commands or read terminal output.

Published Jun 17, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: VulnCheck

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.8% (30-day exploitation probability)+8
  • Technical severity (high)+6
  • Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.81%
ahead of 56% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
NousResearch
Hermes-agent
CVSS base
7.5
High · 2 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
Yes
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (NousResearch Hermes-agent).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  4. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (authentication), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
NousResearch Hermes-agent < 0.16.0 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
8.7 CVSS 4.0 High — — disclosure@vulncheck.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.7 CVSS 4.0 High — — VulnCheck via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
7.5 CVSS 3.1 High 3.9 3.6 disclosure@vulncheck.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.5 CVSS 3.1 High — — VulnCheck via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: disclosure@vulncheck.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-306 · Missing Authentication for Critical Function

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.81%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Review authentication logs: logins without MFA, anomalous sessions and recently created accounts.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSauthentication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · nousresearch/hermes-agent
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 7.5
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Deferred
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Jun 17, 2026 · VulnCheck

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

5 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

NousResearch
every CVE for this vendor
Authentication
same class
CWE-306
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • Medium CVE-2026-18993 NousResearch hermes-agent Memory Toolset model_tools.py access control Aug 6, 2026
  • Medium CVE-2026-18976 NousResearch hermes-agent disabled_toolsets agent_init.py get_tool_definitions privileges assignment Aug 5, 2026
  • Medium CVE-2026-18775 NousResearch hermes-agent Browser Tooling browser_tool.py browser_snapshot server-side request forgery Aug 4, 2026
  • Medium CVE-2026-18774 NousResearch hermes-agent xAI Image Generation Provider image_gen_provider.py save_url_image server-side request forgery Aug 4, 2026
  • Medium CVE-2026-18773 NousResearch hermes-agent Quick run.py _check_slash_access authorization Aug 4, 2026
  • Medium CVE-2026-17432 NousResearch hermes-agent SimpleX Gateway Authorization adapter.py access control Jul 25, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-53869 is "Hermes Agent < 0.16.0 - DNS Rebinding Bypass via WebSocket Endpoints", rated High. It affects Hermes-agent (NousResearch); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.81% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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