---
id: GHSA-869j-r97x-hx2g
title: Anki's local HTTP server does not sufficiently validate requests
summary: Anki's local HTTP server does not sufficiently validate requests
severity: high
cwe:
  - CWE-22
  - CWE-346
vendor: aqt
product: aqt
ecosystem: pip
affected:
  - aqt <= 25.9.2
patched:
  - aqt 25.9.3
published: '2026-06-19'
updated: '2026-06-19'
source: GHSA
sourceUrl: 'https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-869j-r97x-hx2g'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/ankitects/anki/security/advisories/GHSA-869j-r97x-hx2g'
  - url: 'https://x.com/taviso/status/2051310678800253318'
  - url: 'https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-869j-r97x-hx2g'
tags:
  - ghsa
  - pip
ingestedAt: '2026-06-22T13:35:24.179Z'
---

## Overview

## Summary

Anki launches a local HTTP server to serve media files and web pages for parts of its interface. The server fails to validate requests in the following ways:
1. No sufficient validation of the Origin header.
2. Some endpoints are vulnerable to path traversal attacks.

This allows malicious websites to exfiltrate local files given a known path.

## Browser impact

The severity varies by browser because of Private Network Access (PNA), a newer spec that restricts web pages from making requests to localhost/local network addresses:

Chrome/Chromium (including Edge, Brave): Largely protected, as Chrome has implemented PNA restrictions for several years and now puts local network access behind a permission prompt.
Safari: Hasn't implemented PNA yet, though macOS has some OS-level protections.
Firefox: Most vulnerable — hasn't implemented PNA yet, though it's reportedly planned for Firefox 151.

## Patches

The issue was fixed as of Anki 25.09.3

## Affected packages

- `aqt <= 25.9.2`

## Remediation

Upgrade to a patched release:

- `aqt 25.9.3`