---
id: CVE-2026-40525
aliases:
  - GHSA-jgq2-vq69-gr6h
  - PYSEC-2026-438
title: 'OpenViking: Unauthenticated remote bot control via OpenAPI HTTP routes'
summary: 'OpenViking: Unauthenticated remote bot control via OpenAPI HTTP routes'
severity: critical
cvss: 9.1
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N'
vendor: openviking
product: openviking
ecosystem: pip
affected:
  - openviking < 0.3.9
patched:
  - openviking 0.3.9
published: '2026-04-17'
updated: '2026-09-10'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-10T03:51:02.331399715Z'
source: OSV
sourceUrl: 'https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-jgq2-vq69-gr6h'
references:
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-40525'
  - url: 'https://github.com/volcengine/OpenViking/pull/1447'
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/volcengine/OpenViking/commit/c7bb1676f4d037609f041bf39e4e2bd52e8f9820
  - url: 'https://github.com/volcengine/OpenViking'
  - url: 'https://github.com/volcengine/OpenViking/releases/tag/v0.3.9'
  - url: >-
      https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openviking-authentication-bypass-via-vikingbot-openapi
tags:
  - osv
  - pip
epss: 0.00762
epssPercentile: 0.53392
ingestedAt: '2026-09-12T03:13:01.705Z'
---

## Overview

OpenViking prior to commit c7bb167 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability in the VikingBot OpenAPI HTTP route surface where the authentication check fails open when the api_key configuration value is unset or empty. Remote attackers with network access to the exposed service can invoke privileged bot-control functionality without providing a valid X-API-Key header, including submitting attacker-controlled prompts, creating or using bot sessions, and accessing downstream tools, integrations, secrets, or data accessible to the bot.

## Affected packages

- `openviking < 0.3.9`

## Remediation

Upgrade to a patched release:

- `openviking 0.3.9`