CherryHQ/cherry-studio · error · Error

Invalid command: path traversal detected in "${command}"

Error message

Invalid command: path traversal detected in "${command}"

What it means

Thrown by validateCommand() when the trimmed command string contains path traversal sequences. The regex /(?:^|[/\\])\.\.(?:[/\\]|$)/ matches '..' when preceded by start-of-string or a path separator, and followed by a path separator or end-of-string. This catches '../', '..\', '/../..\', and a bare '..'. The check runs after the empty-string and null-byte checks.

Source

Thrown at src/main/ai/mcp/McpPackageService.ts:153

 *
 * @param command - The command to validate
 * @returns The validated command
 * @throws Error if command contains path traversal or is invalid
 */
export function validateCommand(command: string): string {
  if (!command || typeof command !== 'string') {
    throw new Error('Invalid command: command must be a non-empty string')
  }

  const trimmed = command.trim()
  if (!trimmed) {
    throw new Error('Invalid command: command cannot be empty')
  }

  // Check for path traversal sequences
  // This catches: .., ../, ..\, /../, \..\, etc.
  if (/(?:^|[/\\])\.\.(?:[/\\]|$)/.test(trimmed) || trimmed === '..') {
    throw new Error(`Invalid command: path traversal detected in "${command}"`)
  }

  // Check for null bytes
  if (trimmed.includes('\0')) {
    throw new Error('Invalid command: null byte detected')
  }

  return trimmed
}

/**
 * Validate command arguments to prevent injection attacks.
 * Rejects arguments containing path traversal sequences.
 *
 * @param args - The arguments array to validate
 * @returns The validated arguments array
 * @throws Error if any argument contains path traversal
 */

View on GitHub (pinned to 726446b54c)

Solutions

1. Do not install or run the package — the command field contains a path-traversal attempt.
2. If the '..' is legitimate (e.g., a relative path within the package), use './' relative paths starting from extractDir instead.
3. Report the package to the MCP registry/marketplace as potentially malicious.

import path from 'node:path'

function hasPathTraversal(value: string): boolean {
  return /(?:^|[/\\])\.\.(?:[/\\]|$)/.test(value) || value === '..'
}

if (hasPathTraversal(command)) {
  throw new Error(`Command contains path traversal: ${command}`)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Called from resolveMcpConfig at line 351 after variable substitution. Triggers when the manifest's command contains traversal sequences like '../../../bin/sh', '../../etc/passwd', '..\..\Windows\System32\cmd.exe', or '/usr/../../../bin/sh'. These are classic path-traversal attack vectors in command execution.

Common situations: A malicious MCP package manifest embeds a traversal sequence in its command to escape the extraction directory and execute an arbitrary binary; a poorly constructed command path accidentally contains '..' segments; a platform_override was crafted to bypass the main command validation.

Related errors

• Invalid command: null byte detected
• Invalid args: null byte detected in argument at index ${inde
• Invalid args: path traversal detected in argument at index $
• Path traversal detected: target path must be direct child of
• Unsafe DXT entry path (zip-slip): ${name}

AI-assisted analysis of CherryHQ/cherry-studio@726446b54c (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9ea4a5b449231ea6. Report an issue: GitHub.