Security Digest · Vulnerability record
CVE-2026-40157: PraisonAI vulnerable to arbitrary file write via path traversal in `praisonai recipe unpack`
PraisonAI is a multi-agent teams system. Prior to 4.5.128, cmdunpack in the recipe CLI extracts .praison tar archives using raw tar.extract() without validating archive member paths.
CVSS 9.4 Critical EPSS 0.5% · p44
Should you act?
Critical and remotely reachable
No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. 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 0.5%, percentile 44: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.5% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 44% of all scored CVEs (low). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Only applies if your dependency tree includes
PraisonAI(PyPI) >= 2.7.2, < 4.5.128, fixed in 4.5.128. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.
What it is
PraisonAI is a multi-agent teams system. Prior to 4.5.128, cmdunpack in the recipe CLI extracts .praison tar archives using raw tar.extract() without validating archive member paths. A .praison bundle containing ../../ entries will write files outside the intended output directory. An attacker who distributes a malicious bundle can overwrite arbitrary files on the victim's filesystem when they run praisonai recipe unpack. This vulnerability is fixed in 4.5.128.
From the GitHub advisory
| Field | Value | |---|---| | Severity | Critical | | Type | Path traversal -- arbitrary file write via tar.extract() without member validation | | Affected | src/praisonai/praisonai/cli/features/recipe.py:1170-1172 |
Summary
cmdunpack in the recipe CLI extracts .praison tar archives using raw tar.extract() without validating archive member paths. A .praison bundle containing ../../ entries will write files outside the intended output directory. An attacker who distributes a malicious bundle can overwrite arbitrary files on the victim's filesystem when they run praisonai recipe unpack.
Details
The vulnerable code is in cli/features/recipe.py:1170-1172:
Weakness type: CWE-22.
Product: PraisonAI (PyPI) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-04-10
Affected and fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable | First fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| PyPI | PraisonAI | >= 2.7.2, < 4.5.128 | 4.5.128 |
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions (per CVE record) |
|---|---|---|
| MervinPraison | PraisonAI | < 4.5.128 |
Severity scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub_M | 4.0 | 9.4 Critical | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H |
| GitHub | 4.0 | 9.4 | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H |
- Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
- Attack complexity: low
- Attack requirements: none
- Privileges required: none (no login)
- User interaction: passive
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): 0.53% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 44.
Timeline
- — CVE record published by GitHub_M
- — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-99g3-w8gr-x37c published (critical)
- — CVE record last updated
Sources and references
Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.
Vulnerability records
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-99g3-w8gr-x37c github.com
- CVE.org record CVE-2026-40157 cve.org
- NVD entry CVE-2026-40157 nvd.nist.gov
Other references from the CVE record and advisory
- github.com github.com
- github.com github.com