Zeus is pre-1.0. Security fixes should target the repository default branch unless a maintained release branch is documented.

Do not open public issues for vulnerabilities involving secrets, process control, profile isolation, API authorization, or command execution. Use the repository security advisory workflow once the repository is published, or contact the maintainers through the private channel documented there.

• Zeus is a local orchestrator for Hermes profiles, not a sandbox.
• The HTTP API binds to 127.0.0.1 by default.
• Non-loopback API binds require an API key of at least 16 characters and reject unauthenticated reads; external access also requires a separately hardened TLS reverse proxy and firewall.
• Mutating API endpoints require ZEUS_API_KEY to be configured and x-zeus-api-key to match it.
• Runtime state belongs under .zeus/ or a configured ZEUS_STATE_DIR.
• Templates must reference secrets by environment variable name, not inline secret values.
• Hermes profiles isolate Hermes state. Tool execution isolation depends on the selected Hermes terminal backend.
• Gateway marker publication and lifecycle cleanup are serialized by a per-profile advisory lock shared by the Zeus supervisor and schema-v3 launcher. This lock is a protocol boundary, not isolation from arbitrary processes running as the same operating-system user: same-UID writers that modify marker or lock files without honoring the protocol are outside the supported trust model.

• Use zeus doctor --strict before deployment.
• Use sandboxed Hermes terminal backends for untrusted bot tasks.
• Rotate any credential that was accidentally committed, printed in logs, or rendered into a shared artifact.
• Treat logs as sensitive because Hermes providers, messaging platforms, and bot tools may include user or operational data.
• Keep ZEUS_STATE_DIR ignored when it is inside a workspace and remove permissions for unrelated local users; zeus doctor checks both conditions.