---
id: CVE-2026-53870
title: >-
  Hermes Agent before 0.16.0 creates response_store.db and
  webhook_subscriptions.json with world-readable permissions (mode 0o644),
  exposing conversation history and HMAC secrets to local users
summary: >-
  Hermes Agent before 0.16.0 creates response_store.db and
  webhook_subscriptions.json with world-readable permissions (mode 0o644),
  exposing conversation history and HMAC secrets to local users. Attackers with
  local filesystem access can r…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N'
cwe:
  - CWE-276
vendor: NousResearch
product: hermes-agent
affected:
  - hermes-agent < 0.16.0
patched:
  - hermes-agent 0.16.0
published: '2026-06-17'
updated: '2026-10-08'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-08T16:17:20.620'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53870'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/commit/3bace071bfadf2d2bec2ee048471a31ec920e3e8
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/30917'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/31469'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/releases/tag/v2026.6.5'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: >-
      https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/hermes-agent-sensitive-file-permission-vulnerability-in-store-files
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/30917'
    label: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53870'
  - url: 'https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-99f9-j8r3-p853'
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - exploit-available
  - ghsa
  - pip
exploitAvailable: true
ssvc:
  exploitation: poc
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-06-17T18:39:20.486749Z'
epss: 0.0016
epssPercentile: 0.05106
ecosystem: pip
ingestedAt: '2026-06-29T14:31:47.165Z'
---

## Overview

Hermes Agent before 0.16.0 creates response_store.db and webhook_subscriptions.json with world-readable permissions (mode 0o644), exposing conversation history and HMAC secrets to local users. Attackers with local filesystem access can read these files directly to obtain sensitive data including conversation history, tool payloads, prompts, and per-route HMAC secrets.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Package advisory (CVE-2026-53870)

Affected packages:

- `hermes-agent < 0.16.0`

Patched in:

- `hermes-agent 0.16.0`

Source: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-99f9-j8r3-p853