Is this vulnerability remotely exploitable?

It is indirectly remote: an attacker must convince a user to open a malicious repository in Claude Code, but once the project is opened, exfiltration can occur without further user interaction.

What level of access does an attacker need?

The attacker only needs the ability to provide or control a repository that the victim opens in Claude Code. They do not need direct access to the victim's machine or Anthropic account; the vulnerable project-load behavior performs the exfiltration.

What is the safest general fix pattern for this type of issue?

The strongest fix is to ensure that untrusted projects cannot trigger any use of user credentials or network-sensitive configuration until after the user explicitly confirms trust, and even then, to run with the minimum necessary privileges and isolated configuration.

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(7.5)

Insufficient Protection of API Secrets (CWE-522) in Claude Code Project Load Flow

CVE-2026-21852

Published:

Jan 21, 2026

Status:

Analyzed

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

NDV

Recent Vulnerabilities

CWE-306

CRITICAL RISK

CRITICAL

(9.8)

Missing Authentication for Forgot-Password Email Change API (CWE-306)

Account Takeover / Loss of Account Control

February 17, 2026

CWE-77;CWE-78

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(7.3)

OS Command Injection (CWE-78) in node-sonos-http-api TTS Provider for macOS

Remote Code Execution on the Server Host

February 17, 2026

Vulnerability Type

Category:

Insufficient Credential Protection

CWE:

CWE-522

Impact:

API Key and Sensitive Data Exfiltration

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(7.5)

CVSS Version:

3.1

Vulnerability Type

Category:

Insufficient Credential Protection

CWE:

CWE-522

Impact:

API Key and Sensitive Data Exfiltration

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(7.5)

CVSS Version:

3.1

Catch This CVE While Code Is Being Written

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Made with Love in San Francisco

355 Bryant St. San Francisco, CA 94107, USA

Ask AI for summary of CodeAnt

Insufficient Protection of API Secrets (CWE-522) in Claude Code Project Load Flow

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

Recent Vulnerabilities

CRITICAL RISK

CRITICAL

(9.8)

Missing Authentication for Forgot-Password Email Change API (CWE-306)

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(7.3)

OS Command Injection (CWE-78) in node-sonos-http-api TTS Provider for macOS

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Catch This CVE While Code Is Being Written

Ship clean & secure code faster

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