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CVE-2025-53098: Arbitrary Command Execution in Roo Code via MCP Configuration

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Overview

We are addressing a significant vulnerability that affects Roo Code, an AI-powered autonomous coding agent. The vulnerability, officially assigned as CVE-2025-53098, has the potential to compromise the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the system. An attacker with specific access permissions can craft a prompt that manipulates Roo Code into writing harmful commands into a configuration file. This can lead to the execution of arbitrary commands that could compromise the system or lead to data leakage. The severity of this vulnerability lies in its potential for exploitation, emphasizing the need for immediate attention and mitigation.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-53098
Severity: Moderate (CVSS: 8.1)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

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Product | Affected Versions

Roo Code | Prior to 3.20.3

How the Exploit Works

The exploit takes advantage of the MCP (Master Control Program) configuration format’s ability to execute arbitrary commands in Roo Code. An attacker with certain permissions, for instance through a prompt injection attack, can craft a prompt that makes the agent write a harmful command into the MCP configuration file. If the user has enabled the auto-approving file writes within the project, this could lead to arbitrary command execution, compromising the system or causing data leakage.

Conceptual Example Code

Below is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This is a pseudocode example that illustrates the crafting of a malicious prompt:

# Attacker gains access to submit prompts to the agent
attacker_access = gain_access(agent)
# Craft a prompt that writes malicious command into the MCP configuration file
malicious_prompt = craft_prompt('write', '.roo/mcp.json', 'malicious_command')
# Submit the crafted prompt to the agent
submit_prompt(attacker_access, malicious_prompt)

Please note that this is a simplified example and actual exploitation would likely involve more complex and specific commands, taking into account the specific configuration and setup of the targeted system.

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Disclaimer:

The information and code presented in this article are provided for educational and defensive cybersecurity purposes only. Any conceptual or pseudocode examples are simplified representations intended to raise awareness and promote secure development and system configuration practices.

Do not use this information to attempt unauthorized access or exploit vulnerabilities on systems that you do not own or have explicit permission to test.

Ameeba and its authors do not endorse or condone malicious behavior and are not responsible for misuse of the content. Always follow ethical hacking guidelines, responsible disclosure practices, and local laws.

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