# Aspire CLI: agent setup wrote config to a shared temp log

> Aspire CLI's agent setup command left scanned MCP configuration content in a log file that other local accounts could read.

- **Severity:** Medium: Real and reproducible, but needs unusual setup, user help or a narrow audience. Plan a fix.
- **Category:** Vulnerability
- **Published by:** Microsoft
- **Disclosed:** 2026-11-10
- **CVE:** CVE-2026-120792
- **CVSS:** 7.3
- **Affects:** Aspire CLI, @microsoft/aspire-cli (npm), Aspire.Cli (NuGet)
- **Research by:** l8BL (ENKI WhiteHat), 71C4
- **Primary source:** https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-q6jf-24jf-m3cg
- **Page:** https://theinjection.dev/items/microsoft-aspire-cli-agent-init-temp-log/

Aspire CLI's agent and MCP setup command wrote configuration paths, configuration content and scan diagnostics to a log file at a fixed path in the shared temporary directory, where any other local user on Linux or macOS could read it.

## What happened

Microsoft published CVE-2026-120792 on November 10, 2026 and fixed it in Aspire 13.6.5 the same day. The advisory places the flaw in the Aspire CLI's deprecated MCP configuration scanner and credits l8BL with ENKI WhiteHat, and 71C4. Three further Aspire advisories, listed below, shipped in the same release.

## How it works

Running the CLI's agent initialization wrote configuration paths, configuration content and scan diagnostics to a log file at a fixed path inside the operating system's temporary directory. That directory is shared between accounts on Linux and macOS, so a second local user could open the file and read whatever the scanned agent and MCP configuration held. Nothing had to be misconfigured for the log to be written.

## Who is affected

Affected builds, listed below, cover the npm and NuGet distributions of the Aspire CLI on Linux and macOS, x64 and Arm64. Microsoft does not list Windows. A laptop where the developer owns the only account has no second local reader, so shared build hosts, CI runners and multi-user developer servers carry the practical risk.

## What to do

Update the Aspire CLI to 13.6.5 or later, and for npm installs check that the platform-specific dependency resolves to 13.6.5 too. Microsoft states the update does not remove log files already written, so delete leftover Aspire logs from the temporary directory by hand and rotate any credential that sat in a scanned configuration. Updating the .NET runtime or SDK does not patch the CLI.

## Quick facts

- **Affected:** Aspire.Cli 13.2.0 to 13.6.5 (NuGet); @microsoft/aspire-cli 13.4.2 to 13.6.5 (npm)
- **Fixed in:** Aspire 13.6.5, released November 10, 2026
- **CVE:** CVE-2026-120792, CVSS 7.3, MSRC severity Important
- **Platforms:** Linux and macOS, x64 and Arm64
- **Found by:** l8BL with ENKI WhiteHat, and 71C4
- **Status:** Fixed; log files written earlier are not removed by the update
- **Also in 13.6.5:** CVE-2026-118740, CVE-2026-120778 and CVE-2026-120006

## Questions

### Which Aspire CLI versions fix CVE-2026-120792?

Aspire 13.6.5 fixes CVE-2026-120792 in every distribution. For .NET tool installs, update the Aspire.Cli package; for npm installs, update @microsoft/aspire-cli and confirm that its platform-specific dependency also resolves to 13.6.5 or later. Microsoft states that Aspire ships independently of .NET, so updating the .NET runtime or SDK leaves the CLI unpatched.

### Does updating Aspire remove the exposed log files?

No. The Aspire 13.6.5 release notes state that previously written temporary log files are not removed by the update. Anyone who ran the CLI's agent initialization on a shared Linux or macOS host should delete leftover Aspire logs from the system temporary directory, then rotate any credential that sat in a configuration the scanner read.

### What else did Aspire 13.6.5 fix?

Microsoft published three more Aspire advisories around the same release: CVE-2026-118740, a critical unauthenticated dashboard route that allowed telemetry deletion and could expose the browser token; CVE-2026-120778, elevation of privilege through MSBuild response file discovery; and CVE-2026-120006, disclosure of a dashboard authentication cookie to a linked service on macOS.

## Sources

1. [Microsoft Advisory](https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-q6jf-24jf-m3cg)
2. [Aspire 13.6.5 Release](https://github.com/microsoft/aspire/releases/tag/v13.6.5)