{"id":"PYSEC-2026-4164","summary":"sentence-transformers local model loading bypasses trust_remote_code and executes custom Python","details":"sentence-transformers contains a security control bypass vulnerability that allows attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution by exploiting a logic flaw in the import_module_class helper within sentence_transformers/util/misc.py, where the guard condition includes an 'or os.path.exists(model_name_or_path)' clause that satisfies the trust gate whenever the supplied path exists on the local filesystem, regardless of the trust_remote_code=False argument. Attackers who can control or influence the contents of a model directory on disk can place malicious Python files such as modeling_*.py referenced via modules.json, causing the code to execute at import time when an application loads the model with SentenceTransformer(path, trust_remote_code=False), bypassing the documented security contract and achieving code execution within the loading process.","aliases":["CVE-2026-68770","GHSA-jhr6-gm9c-rqjv"],"modified":"2026-10-01T17:45:16.845967182Z","published":"2026-10-01T16:38:29.083815Z","references":[{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68770"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers/issues/3801"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers/pull/3807"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers/pull/3935"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers/commit/626eb602b088878a8173bcab69225f68411b99e1"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers/commit/ae1acc3fb2aa2004577b297eb4a915ce7a03316a"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers/releases/tag/v5.6.0"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers/releases/tag/v6.0.0"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/sentence-transformers-arbitrary-code-execution-on-local-model-load-despite-trust-remote-code-false"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://pypi.org/project/sentence-transformers"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-jhr6-gm9c-rqjv"}],"affected":[{"package":{"name":"sentence-transformers","ecosystem":"PyPI","purl":"pkg:pypi/sentence-transformers"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"5.6.0"}]}],"versions":["0.1.0","0.2.0","0.2.1","0.2.2","0.2.3","0.2.4","0.2.4.1","0.2.5","0.2.5.1","0.2.6","0.2.6.1","0.2.6.2","0.3.0","0.3.1","0.3.2","0.3.3","0.3.4","0.3.5","0.3.5.1","0.3.6","0.3.7","0.3.7.1","0.3.7.2","0.3.8","0.3.9","0.4.0","0.4.1","0.4.1.1","0.4.1.2","1.0.0","1.0.1","1.0.2","1.0.3","1.0.4","1.1.0","1.1.1","1.2.0","1.2.1","2.0.0","2.1.0","2.2.0","2.2.1","2.2.2","2.3.0","2.3.1","2.4.0","2.5.0","2.5.1","2.6.0","2.6.1","2.7.0","3.0.0","3.0.1","3.1.0","3.1.1","3.2.0","3.2.1","3.3.0","3.3.1","3.4.0","3.4.1","4.0.0","4.0.1","4.0.2","4.1.0","5.0.0","5.1.0","5.1.1","5.1.2","5.2.0","5.2.1","5.2.2","5.2.3","5.3.0","5.4.0","5.4.1","5.5.0","5.5.1"],"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/blob/main/vulns/sentence-transformers/PYSEC-2026-4164.yaml"}}],"schema_version":"1.9.0","severity":[{"type":"CVSS_V3","score":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},{"type":"CVSS_V4","score":"CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"}]}