Shell injection via unquoted workdir interpolation in docker, singularity,
and SSH backends. When workdir contained shell metacharacters (e.g.
~/;id), arbitrary commands could execute.
Changes:
- Add shlex.quote() at each interpolation point in docker.py,
singularity.py, and ssh.py with tilde-aware quoting (keep ~
unquoted for shell expansion, quote only the subpath)
- Add _validate_workdir() allowlist in terminal_tool.py as
defense-in-depth before workdir reaches any backend
Original work by Mariano A. Nicolini (PR #5620). Salvaged with fixes
for tilde expansion (shlex.quote breaks cd ~/path) and replaced
incomplete deny-list with strict character allowlist.
Co-authored-by: Mariano A. Nicolini <entropidelic@users.noreply.github.com>
Add docker_env option to terminal config — a dict of key-value pairs that
get set inside Docker containers via -e flags at both container creation
(docker run) and per-command execution (docker exec) time.
This complements docker_forward_env (which reads values dynamically from
the host process environment). docker_env is useful when Hermes runs as a
systemd service without access to the user's shell environment — e.g.
setting SSH_AUTH_SOCK or GNUPGHOME to known stable paths for SSH/GPG
agent socket forwarding.
Precedence: docker_env provides baseline values; docker_forward_env
overrides for the same key.
Config example:
terminal:
docker_env:
SSH_AUTH_SOCK: /run/user/1000/ssh-agent.sock
GNUPGHOME: /root/.gnupg
docker_volumes:
- /run/user/1000/ssh-agent.sock:/run/user/1000/ssh-agent.sock
- /run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent:/root/.gnupg/S.gpg-agent
The config key skills.external_dirs and core resolution (get_all_skills_dirs,
get_external_skills_dirs in agent/skill_utils.py) already existed but several
code paths still only scanned SKILLS_DIR. Now external dirs are respected
everywhere:
- skills_categories(): scan all dirs for category discovery
- _get_category_from_path(): resolve categories against any skills root
- skill_manager_tool._find_skill(): search all dirs for edit/patch/delete
- credential_files.get_skills_directory_mount(): mount all dirs into
Docker/Singularity containers (external dirs at external_skills/<idx>)
- credential_files.iter_skills_files(): list files from all dirs for
Modal/Daytona upload
- tools/environments/ssh.py: rsync all skill dirs to remote hosts
- gateway _check_unavailable_skill(): check disabled skills across all dirs
Usage in config.yaml:
skills:
external_dirs:
- ~/repos/agent-skills/hermes
- /shared/team-skills
- Add .zip to SUPPORTED_DOCUMENT_TYPES so gateway platforms (Telegram,
Slack, Discord) cache uploaded zip files instead of rejecting them.
- Add get_cache_directory_mounts() and iter_cache_files() to
credential_files.py for host-side cache directory passthrough
(documents, images, audio, screenshots).
- Docker: bind-mount cache dirs read-only alongside credentials/skills.
Changes are live (bind mount semantics).
- Modal: mount cache files at sandbox creation + resync before each
command via _sync_files() with mtime+size change detection.
- Handles backward-compat with legacy dir names (document_cache,
image_cache, audio_cache, browser_screenshots) via get_hermes_dir().
- Container paths always use the new cache/<subdir> layout regardless
of host layout.
This replaces the need for a dedicated extract_archive tool (PR #4819)
— the agent can now use standard terminal commands (unzip, tar) on
uploaded files inside remote containers.
Closes: related to PR #4819 by kshitijk4poor
Replace shell=True with list-based subprocess execution to prevent
command injection via malicious user input.
Changes:
- tools/transcription_tools.py: Use shlex.split() + shell=False
- tools/environments/docker.py: List-based commands with container ID validation
Fixes CVE-level vulnerability where malicious file paths or container IDs
could inject arbitrary commands.
CVSS: 9.8 (Critical)
Refs: V-001 in SECURITY_AUDIT_REPORT.md
Skills with scripts/, templates/, and references/ subdirectories need
those files available inside sandboxed execution environments. Previously
the skills directory was missing entirely from remote backends.
Live sync — files stay current as credentials refresh and skills update:
- Docker/Singularity: bind mounts are inherently live (host changes
visible immediately)
- Modal: _sync_files() runs before each command with mtime+size caching,
pushing only changed credential and skill files (~13μs no-op overhead)
- SSH: rsync --safe-links before each command (naturally incremental)
- Daytona: _upload_if_changed() with mtime+size caching before each command
Security — symlink filtering:
- Docker/Singularity: sanitized temp copy when symlinks detected
- Modal/Daytona: iter_skills_files() skips symlinks
- SSH: rsync --safe-links skips symlinks pointing outside source tree
- Temp dir cleanup via atexit + reuse across calls
Non-root user support:
- SSH: detects remote home via echo $HOME, syncs to $HOME/.hermes/
- Daytona: detects sandbox home before sync, uploads to $HOME/.hermes/
- Docker/Modal/Singularity: run as root, /root/.hermes/ is correct
Also:
- credential_files.py: fix name/path key fallback in required_credential_files
- Singularity, SSH, Daytona: gained credential file support
- 14 tests covering symlink filtering, name/path fallback, iter_skills_files
Two related fixes for remote terminal backends (Modal/Docker):
1. NEW: Credential file mounting system
Skills declare required_credential_files in frontmatter. Files are
mounted into Docker (read-only bind mounts) and Modal (mounts at
creation + sync via exec on each command for mid-session changes).
Google Workspace skill updated with the new field.
2. FIX: Docker backend now includes env_passthrough vars
Skills that declare required_environment_variables (e.g. Notion with
NOTION_API_KEY) register vars in the env_passthrough system. The
local backend checked this, but Docker's forward_env was a separate
disconnected list. Now Docker exec merges both sources, so
skill-declared env vars are forwarded into containers automatically.
This fixes the reported issue where NOTION_API_KEY in ~/.hermes/.env
wasn't reaching the Docker container despite being registered via
the Notion skill's prerequisites.
Closes#3665
Drop the mini-swe-agent git submodule. All terminal backends now use
hermes-agent's own environment implementations directly.
Docker backend:
- Inline the `docker run -d` container startup (was 15 lines in
minisweagent's DockerEnvironment). Our wrapper already handled
execute(), cleanup(), security hardening, volumes, and resource limits.
Modal backend:
- Import swe-rex's ModalDeployment directly instead of going through
minisweagent's 90-line passthrough wrapper.
- Bake the _AsyncWorker pattern (from environments/patches.py) directly
into ModalEnvironment for Atropos compatibility without monkey-patching.
Cleanup:
- Remove minisweagent_path.py (submodule path resolution helper)
- Remove submodule init/install from install.sh and setup-hermes.sh
- Remove mini-swe-agent from .gitmodules
- environments/patches.py is now a no-op (kept for backward compat)
- terminal_tool.py no longer does sys.path hacking for minisweagent
- mini_swe_runner.py guards imports (optional, for RL training only)
- Update all affected tests to mock the new direct subprocess calls
- Update README.md, CONTRIBUTING.md
No functionality change — all Docker, Modal, local, SSH, Singularity,
and Daytona backends behave identically. 6093 tests pass.
When container_persistent=false, the inner mini-swe-agent cleanup only
runs 'docker stop' in the background, leaving containers in Exited state.
Now cleanup() also runs 'docker rm -f' to fully remove the container.
Also fixes pre-existing test failures in model_metadata (gpt-4.1 1M context),
setup tests (TTS provider step), and adds MockInnerDocker.cleanup().
Original fix by crazywriter1. Cherry-picked and adapted for current main.
Fixes#1679
Docker terminal sessions are secret-dark by default. This adds
terminal.docker_forward_env as an explicit allowlist for env vars
that may be forwarded into Docker containers.
Values resolve from the current shell first, then fall back to
~/.hermes/.env. Only variables the user explicitly lists are
forwarded — nothing is auto-exposed.
Cherry-picked from PR #1449 by @teknium1, conflict-resolved onto
current main.
Fixes#1436
Supersedes #1439
Keep Docker sandboxes isolated by default. Add an explicit terminal.docker_mount_cwd_to_workspace opt-in, thread it through terminal/file environment creation, and document the security tradeoff and config.yaml workflow clearly.
Fixes#1445 — When using Docker backend, the user's current working
directory is now automatically bind-mounted to /workspace inside the
container. This allows users to run `cd my-project && hermes` and have
their project files accessible to the agent without manual volume config.
Changes:
- Add host_cwd and auto_mount_cwd parameters to DockerEnvironment
- Capture original host CWD in _get_env_config() before container fallback
- Pass host_cwd through _create_environment() to Docker backend
- Add TERMINAL_DOCKER_NO_AUTO_MOUNT env var to disable if needed
- Skip auto-mount when /workspace is already explicitly mounted
- Add tests for auto-mount behavior
- Add documentation for the new feature
The auto-mount is skipped when:
1. TERMINAL_DOCKER_NO_AUTO_MOUNT=true is set
2. User configured docker_volumes with :/workspace
3. persistent_filesystem=true (persistent sandbox mode)
This makes the Docker backend behave more intuitively — the agent
operates on the user's actual project directory by default.
* feat: improve context compaction handoff summaries
Adapt PR #916 onto current main by replacing the old context summary marker
with a clearer handoff wrapper, updating the summarization prompt for
resume-oriented summaries, and preserving the current call_llm-based
compression path.
* fix: clearer error when docker backend is unavailable
* fix: preserve docker discovery in backend preflight
Follow up on salvaged PR #940 by reusing find_docker() during the new
availability check so non-PATH Docker Desktop installs still work. Add
a regression test covering the resolved executable path.
---------
Co-authored-by: aydnOktay <xaydinoktay@gmail.com>
On macOS, Docker Desktop installs the CLI to /usr/local/bin/docker, but
when Hermes runs as a gateway service (launchd) or in other non-login
contexts, /usr/local/bin is often not in PATH. This causes the Docker
requirements check to fail with 'No such file or directory: docker' even
though docker works fine from the user's terminal.
Add find_docker() helper that uses shutil.which() first, then probes
common Docker Desktop install paths on macOS (/usr/local/bin,
/opt/homebrew/bin, Docker.app bundle). The resolved path is cached and
passed to mini-swe-agent via its 'executable' parameter.
- tools/environments/docker.py: add find_docker(), use it in
_storage_opt_supported() and pass to _Docker(executable=...)
- tools/terminal_tool.py: use find_docker() in requirements check
- tests/tools/test_docker_find.py: 4 tests (PATH, fallback, not found, cache)
2877 tests pass.
cap-drop ALL removes DAC_OVERRIDE, which root needs to write to
bind-mounted directories owned by the host user (uid 1000). This
broke persistent Docker sandboxes — the container couldn't write
to /workspace or /root.
Add back the minimum capabilities needed:
- DAC_OVERRIDE: root can write to bind-mounted dirs owned by host user
- CHOWN: package managers (pip, npm, apt) need to set file ownership
- FOWNER: needed for operations on files owned by other users
Still drops all other capabilities (NET_RAW, SYS_ADMIN, etc.) and
keeps no-new-privileges. Security boundary is the container itself.
Verified end-to-end: create files → destroy container → new container
with same task_id → files persist on host and are accessible in the
new container.
The Docker sandbox previously used --read-only on the root filesystem and
noexec on /tmp. This broke 30+ skills that need to install packages:
- npm install -g (codex, claude-code, mcporter, powerpoint)
- pip install (20+ mlops/media/productivity skills)
- apt install (minecraft-modpack-server, ml-paper-writing)
- Build tools that compile in /tmp (pip wheels, node-gyp)
The container is already fully isolated from the host. Industry standard
(E2B, Docker Sandboxes, OpenAI Codex) does not use --read-only — the
container itself is the security boundary.
Retained security hardening:
- --cap-drop ALL (zero capabilities)
- --security-opt no-new-privileges (no escalation)
- --pids-limit 256 (no fork bombs)
- Size-limited tmpfs for /tmp, /var/tmp, /run
- nosuid on all tmpfs mounts
- noexec on /var/tmp and /run (rarely need exec there)
- Resource limits (CPU, memory, disk)
- Ephemeral containers (destroyed after use)
Fixes#189.
- Updated the installation script to check for necessary build tools on Debian/Ubuntu systems and prompt the user to install them if missing.
- Improved user interaction by redirecting input from /dev/tty for prompts, ensuring compatibility when the script is piped from curl.
- Added checks to verify the successful installation of the main package and provide guidance if installation fails.
- Enhanced the handling of shell configuration files to ensure ~/.local/bin is added to PATH for various shell types.
- Introduced a static method to verify if the Docker storage driver supports the --storage-opt size= option.
- Enhanced resource argument handling in DockerEnvironment to conditionally include storage options based on the support check.
- Added caching for the support check result to optimize performance across instances.
Three issues prevented the Docker terminal backend from working:
1. `effective_image` was referenced but never defined — only the Modal
backend sets this variable. Use `image` directly instead.
2. `--storage-opt size=N` is unsupported on Docker Desktop for Mac
(requires overlay2 with xfs backing). Skip the flag on Darwin.
3. Docker requires absolute paths for `-w` (working directory) but the
default cwd was `~`, which Docker does not expand. Default to `/root`
and translate any `~` passed in from callers.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Added a new section in the README for Inference Providers, detailing setup instructions for Nous Portal, OpenRouter, and Custom Endpoints, improving user guidance for LLM connections.
- Updated messaging platform setup instructions to include Slack and WhatsApp, providing clearer steps for configuration.
- Introduced a new environment variable, TERMINAL_SANDBOX_DIR, to allow users to customize the sandbox storage location for Docker and Singularity environments.
- Refactored the Docker and Singularity environment classes to utilize the new sandbox directory for persistent workspaces, enhancing organization and usability.
- Improved handling of working directories across various environments, ensuring compatibility and clarity in execution paths.
- Introduced a shared interrupt signaling mechanism to allow tools to check for user interrupts during long-running operations.
- Updated the AIAgent to handle interrupts more effectively, ensuring in-progress tool calls are canceled and multiple interrupt messages are combined into one prompt.
- Enhanced the CLI configuration to include container resource limits (CPU, memory, disk) and persistence options for Docker, Singularity, and Modal environments.
- Improved documentation to clarify interrupt behaviors and container resource settings, providing users with better guidance on configuration and usage.
