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Atomicorp WAF Research Note: CVE-2026-7205

duartium papers-mcp-server main.py search_papers path traversal

CVE Details

Status: Attack Blocked by Atomicorp
  • Already protected by existing Atomicorp WAF rules
  • Protection status: Understanding Atomicorp WAF Protection Status
  • CVE: CVE-2026-7205
  • Name: duartium papers-mcp-server main.py search_papers path traversal
  • Severity: Medium
  • CVSS: 5.5 (v4.0) (Medium)
  • CVSS version: 4.0
  • CVSS source: VulDB CNA
  • CVSS vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
    • Attack vector: Network
    • Attack complexity: Low
    • Attack requirements: None
    • Privileges required: None
    • User interaction: None
    • Vulnerable-system confidentiality: Low
    • Vulnerable-system integrity: Low
    • Vulnerable-system availability: Low
    • Subsequent-system confidentiality: None
    • Subsequent-system integrity: None
    • Subsequent-system availability: None
    • Scope: X
  • CWE: CWE-22 — Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory (‘Path Traversal’)
  • Related CAPEC attack patterns (via MITRE CWE relationships): CAPEC-126 , CAPEC-64 , CAPEC-76 , CAPEC-78 , CAPEC-79
  • Vendor: duartium
  • Vulnerable product: papers-mcp-server
  • CVE published: 2026-04-28
  • CVE last modified: 2026-07-24
  • EPSS: 0.0043; 36.2th percentile (FIRST )
  • Latest Update: 2026-09-06
  • Selected Rule IDs observed: 340007 , 344360 , 390709
  • Matching rules: 3; rules with blocking actions: 3
  • Would-block Rule IDs: 340007 , 344360 , 390709
  • Request surfaces inspected: JSON request data, Request argument names, Request arguments, Request cookies, Request filename, SOAP request data, XML request data

Vulnerability Description

A vulnerability was identified in duartium papers-mcp-server 9ceb3812a6458ba7922ca24a7406f8807bc55598. Impacted is the function search_papers of the file src/main.py. Such manipulation of the argument topic leads to path traversal. The attack may be launched remotely. The exploit is publicly available and might be used. The project was informed of the problem early through an issue report but has not responded yet.

  1. Maintain the observed Atomicorp protections. Keep your Atomicorp commercial rules current and confirm that the selected observed rules (340007 , 344360 , 390709 ) have not been locally disabled. Atomicorp commercial rules are enabled by default. If you use Atomic WAF, review the applicable policy and rule settings.

  2. Apply the vendor’s remediation. WAF protection is defense in depth and does not replace upgrading or following the affected vendor’s guidance.

    • Affected versions: duartium papers-mcp-server version 9ceb3812a6458ba7922ca24a7406f8807bc55598.
    • No specific CNA/vendor solution or workaround is included in the current CVE Record . Review the vendor’s security advisories and supported-release guidance before making changes.

  3. Validate after changes. Confirm rule updates are current, review WAF events for the affected application, and test application behavior after vendor upgrades, mitigations, or local policy changes.

Research Notes

Atomicorp WAF protections are designed around attack techniques and exploit behaviors, allowing existing protections to apply across multiple vulnerabilities without requiring a unique rule for every CVE.

Public Vulnerability References

Test or Research Source

  • Source: Atomicorp AI Research Framework
  • Tags: cve, derived, traversal, waf-probe

Research Note Context

This research note documents exploit-technique analysis associated with this vulnerability and references Atomicorp WAF protections observed during engineering review, testing, or validation activities.

Atomicorp security controls are generally designed to identify and mitigate attack techniques and exploit behaviors rather than individual CVE identifiers. As a result, protections developed for one vulnerability may also apply to related attack variants and future vulnerabilities using similar techniques.

Learn More

Atomicorp develops commercially supported security technologies for web applications, servers, endpoints, workloads, and legacy enterprise platforms.

Organizations interested in protecting systems against exploit techniques associated with vulnerabilities such as this one can learn more about:

  • Atomic ModSecurity Rules: commercially maintained WAF rules for ModSecurity deployments, including protections for web attacks, bots, scanners, malware, exploitation attempts, and emerging vulnerability classes.
  • Atomic WAF: an enterprise web application firewall with Atomicorp rules, centralized management, reporting, authentication controls, and operational tooling.
  • Atomic ModSecurity Integrator: a special licensing option for MSPs, MSSPs, OEMs, VARs, reverse proxy providers, and other integrators who want to incorporate Atomicorp ModSecurity rule technology into their own products or services.
  • Atomic OSSEC: an enterprise OSSEC-based intrusion detection, compliance, and security monitoring platform.
  • Atomic Protector: workload protection for Linux, web, cloud, data center, and hybrid environments.

For additional information, product evaluations, or technical discussions, visit https://www.atomicorp.com/ or https://modsecurity.io/ .