GHSA-rg4h-fpcp-2qm8
Microsoft Kiota: Generation-time SSRF + remote/local file inclusion via unrestricted $ref
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| NuGet | Microsoft.OpenApi.Kiota | >= 1.30.0, < 1.32.5 | 1.32.5 |
| NuGet | Microsoft.OpenApi.Kiota.Builder | >= 1.30.0, < 1.32.5 | 1.32.5 |
| NuGet | Microsoft.OpenApi.Kiota | < 1.29.1 | 1.29.1 |
| NuGet | Microsoft.OpenApi.Kiota.Builder | < 1.29.1 | 1.29.1 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
## Summary
Microsoft Kiota resolved OpenAPI `$ref`s by fetching remote `http(s)` URLs and reading local files
(including absolute / out-of-tree paths), inlining the referenced schema into the generated client.
Running `kiota generate` on a spec whose `$ref` pointed at an attacker/internal URL or an arbitrary
local file yielded SSRF, remote file inclusion, and local file inclusion. Verified on **1.32.3 / 1.32.4**.
### Details
- `$ref: http://attacker/internal-evil.json#/...` → build host fetches the URL (SSRF) and inlines the
remote schema (RFI); confirmed property `REMOTE_KIOTA_PROP` in the generated client.
- `$ref: /abs/path.json#/...` or `../../secret.json#/...` → Kiota reads the out-of-tree local file and
inlines its schema (LFI); confirmed `Leaked` schema in the generated client. Resolution is transitive
across nesting levels.
Kiota **escapes** its output sinks (comments/strings/identifiers), so attacker-controlled remote/local
content cannot break out into code — no RCE. The chain stops at SSRF + RFI + LFI.
### Impact
Build-time SSRF (CWE-918) from the developer or CI host, disclosure of arbitrary local files (CWE-22), and
inclusion of untrusted remote content (CWE-829), from running the generator on an attacker-controlled or
attacker-influenced OpenAPI description. No code execution. Notable because Kiota is otherwise the hardened
generator (it resists the code-injection class).
The relevant threat is not "change the generated output" (an attacker who fully controls the description can
already do that) but the **side effects on the build host**: outbound requests from inside the CI network
(cloud metadata, internal-only services) and reads of local files the attacker never possessed, whose contents
are then inlined into the generated — and typically committed/published — client. It also bypasses controls
that review the description document but not externally-referenced content.
### Patches
Fixed in **1.29.1 and 1.32.5** (https://github.com/microsoft/kiota/pull/7888). External reference resolution is now
**default-deny**: a new `AllowedExternalOriginsStreamLoader` refuses to load any external `$ref` — remote
`http(s)` URLs and local file paths alike — unless its origin/path is explicitly allow-listed. A new
`--allowed-external-origins` parameter (added to the commands that load OpenAPI descriptions) opts specific
origins back in, accepting `*`, full URIs, URI patterns, full paths, relative paths, or path patterns
(wildcards supported). With no allow-list entries, external references are not loaded at all.
### Remediation
Upgrade to Kiota **1.29.1, 1.32.5,** or later. External references now require explicit opt-in via
`--allowed-external-origins`; add only trusted origins/paths.
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.
- https://github.com/microsoft/kiota/security/advisories/GHSA-rg4h-fpcp-2qm8
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59867
- https://github.com/microsoft/kiota/pull/7888
- https://github.com/microsoft/kiota/commit/cccd798027f0a20db796b3df6c64f9897a39d7b1
- https://github.com/microsoft/kiota
- https://github.com/microsoft/kiota/releases/tag/v1.32.5