nexu-io/open-design · error · SystemExit

path traversal detected in prompt_file for job {job_id}

Error message

path traversal detected in prompt_file for job {job_id}

What it means

Raised in the main loop after resolving prompt_file: the resolved path is not inside run_dir (is_relative_to(run_dir) is False). Same traversal guard as input_images, applied to the prompt file so a manifest cannot read arbitrary files outside the run.

Source

Thrown at skills/hatch-pet/scripts/generate_pet_images.py:261

    jobs = select_jobs(
        manifest,
        states=parse_states(args.states),
        skip_base=args.skip_base,
        job_ids=args.job_id,
    )
    raw_dir = run_dir / "raw"

    completed = []
    for job in jobs:
        job_id = str(job.get("id"))
        prompt_raw = job.get("prompt_file")
        output_raw = job.get("output_path")
        if not isinstance(prompt_raw, str) or not isinstance(output_raw, str):
            raise SystemExit(f"job {job_id} is missing prompt_file or output_path")
        prompt_file = (run_dir / prompt_raw).resolve()
        output_image = (run_dir / output_raw).resolve()
        if not prompt_file.is_relative_to(run_dir):
            raise SystemExit(f"path traversal detected in prompt_file for job {job_id}")
        if not output_image.is_relative_to(run_dir):
            raise SystemExit(f"path traversal detected in output_path for job {job_id}")
        print(f"Generating {job_id} with secondary fallback")
        image_paths = path_list(run_dir, job)
        if image_paths:
            response = run_image_edit(
                model=args.model,
                prompt_file=prompt_file,
                image_paths=image_paths,
                output_json=raw_dir / f"{job_id}.response.json",
                size=args.size,
                api_key=api_key,
            )
        else:
            response = run_image_generation(
                model=args.model,
                prompt_file=prompt_file,
                output_json=raw_dir / f"{job_id}.response.json",

View on GitHub (pinned to 5be4028344)

Solutions

1. Make prompt_file relative to run_dir (e.g. prompts/rows/idle.md) with no ../ escapes.
2. Copy the desired prompt into run_dir/prompts and reference it relatively.
3. Regenerate prompts with prepare_pet_run.py, which writes them under prompts/.
4. Rerun the job.

Example fix

// before (manifest)
"prompt_file": "/home/user/prompts/idle.md"

// after
cp /home/user/prompts/idle.md /tmp/pet-run/prompts/rows/idle.md
# manifest:
"prompt_file": "prompts/rows/idle.md"

def safe_prompt_path(run_dir: Path, raw: str) -> Path:
    resolved = (run_dir / raw).resolve()
    if not resolved.is_relative_to(run_dir):
        raise SystemExit(f"prompt_file escapes run_dir: {raw}")
    return resolved

def prompt_is_inside(run_dir: Path, raw: str) -> bool:
    return (run_dir / raw).resolve().is_relative_to(run_dir)

When it happens

Trigger: A job's prompt_file is an absolute path or contains ../ that escapes run_dir (e.g. "/etc/passwd" or "../../secrets/prompt.md").

Common situations: Hand-editing prompt_file to an absolute path for convenience; moving a run dir without updating relative paths; manifest copied across machines with absolute paths baked in.

Related errors

• path traversal detected in input_images for job {job.get('id
• path traversal detected in output_path for job {job_id}
• invalid brand id: ${input.brandId}
• invalid design system id: ${designSystemId}
• --image path "${rel}" resolves outside the project directory

AI-assisted analysis of nexu-io/open-design@5be4028344 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f4afbd9a82579f09. Report an issue: GitHub.