CVE-2026-39305: PraisonAI Vulnerable to Arbitrary File Write / Path Traversal in Action Orchestrator

Should you act?

Critical, preconditions apply

Severe if exploited, but exploitation needs conditions that may not apply to you. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• Not in CISA KEV, but CISA’s SSVC assessment records a public proof-of-concept, so attack code exists.
• EPSS 0.4%, percentile 36: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.4% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 36% of all scored CVEs (low). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Needs local access needed. Lower urgency for most teams unless an attacker could already run code on the machine.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes PraisonAI (PyPI) <= 4.5.112, fixed in 4.5.113. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

PraisonAI is a multi-agent teams system. Prior to 1.5.113, the Action Orchestrator feature contains a Path Traversal vulnerability that allows an attacker (or compromised agent) to write to arbitrary files outside of the configured workspace directory. By supplying relative path segments (../) in the target path, malicious actions can overwrite sensitive system files or drop executable payloads on the host. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.5.113.

From the GitHub advisory

The Action Orchestrator feature contains a Path Traversal vulnerability that allows an attacker (or compromised agent) to write to arbitrary files outside of the configured workspace directory. By supplying relative path segments (../) in the target path, malicious actions can overwrite sensitive system files or drop executable payloads on the host.

Details Location: src/praisonai/praisonai/cli/features/actionorchestrator.py (Lines 402, 409, 423)

Vulnerable Code snippet:

In the applystep method, paths are constructed by concatenating the workspace path with a user-supplied step.target string: target = workspace / step.target. The code fails to resolve and validate that the final absolute path remains within the bounds of the workspace directory. When processing FILECREATE or FILEEDIT actions, this flaw permits arbitrary file modification.

PoC Construct a malicious ActionStep payload with path traversal characters:

Weakness type: CWE-22.

Product: PraisonAI (PyPI) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-04-07

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: local access needed
• Attack complexity: low
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none
• Scope: changed (can affect other components)

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation poc, automatable no, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.43% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 36.

Timeline

• 2026-04-06 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-jfxc-v5g9-38xr published (critical)
• 2026-04-07 — CVE record last updated
• 2026-04-07 — CVE record published by GitHub_M

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-jfxc-v5g9-38xr github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2026-39305 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2026-39305 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com

Critical PyPI advisories · Today’s Security Digest