RCE in HuggingFace Transformers 5.2.0 LightGlue load path
CVE-2026-5241 Published on June 3, 2026
Policy Bypass in LightGlue Nested Config Resolution in huggingface/transformers
A vulnerability in the LightGlue model loading path of huggingface/transformers version 5.2.0 allows an attacker-controlled model repository to execute arbitrary code during model initialization. The issue arises because the `trust_remote_code` parameter, intended to prevent remote code execution, is overridden by untrusted serialized configuration data in a nested code path. Specifically, when loading a LightGlue model using `AutoModel.from_pretrained()` with `trust_remote_code=False`, the `LightGlueConfig` reads the `trust_remote_code` value from the untrusted `config.json` file and propagates it into nested `AutoConfig.from_pretrained()` calls. This results in the execution of attacker-provided Python modules, even when the victim explicitly disables remote code execution. The vulnerability poses a high risk for environments such as API inference servers, research notebooks, CI/CD pipelines, and model evaluation workers, potentially leading to credential theft, lateral movement, or persistence/backdoor deployment.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-5241 can be exploited with network access, requires user interaction and a small amount of user privileges. This vulnerability is consided to have a high level of attack complexity. Public availability of a proof of concept (POC) exploit exists for CVE-2026-5241. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have a high impact on confidentiality and integrity, and no impact on availability.
Weakness Type
Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere
The software imports, requires, or includes executable functionality (such as a library) from a source that is outside of the intended control sphere.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-5241
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Affected Versions
huggingface/transformers:- Version unspecified and below 5.5.0 is affected.
Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.