Security Digest · Vulnerability record
CVE-2026-56265: Crawl4AI: authentication bypass vulnerability due to a hardcoded default JWT signing key in the Docker API server
Crawl4AI before 0.8.7 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability due to a hardcoded default JWT signing key in the Docker API server.
CVSS 9.3 Critical EPSS 2.6% · p85
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 2.6%, percentile 85: FIRST’s model estimates a 2.6% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 85% of all scored CVEs (elevated). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
- Only applies if your dependency tree includes
crawl4ai(PyPI) < 0.8.7, fixed in 0.8.7. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.
What it is
Crawl4AI before 0.8.7 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability due to a hardcoded default JWT signing key in the Docker API server. Attackers who know the default key can forge valid authentication tokens for any user, bypassing authentication and gaining full access to protected functionality.
From the GitHub advisory
Crawl4AI before 0.8.7 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability due to a hardcoded default JWT signing key in the Docker API server. Attackers who know the default key can forge valid authentication tokens for any user, bypassing authentication and gaining full access to protected functionality.
Weakness type: CWE-798.
Product: crawl4ai (PyPI) · Assigned by: VulnCheck · Published: 2026-06-21
Affected and fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable | First fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| PyPI | crawl4ai | < 0.8.7 | 0.8.7 |
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions (per CVE record) |
|---|---|---|
| Crawl4AI | Crawl4AI | < 0.8.7 |
Severity scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| VulnCheck | 4.0 | 9.3 Critical | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| VulnCheck | 3.1 | 9.8 Critical | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| GitHub | 4.0 | 9.3 | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
- Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
- Attack complexity: low
- Attack requirements: none
- Privileges required: none (no login)
- User interaction: none
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 yes, technical impact total.
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 2.64% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 85.
Timeline
- — CVE record published by VulnCheck
- — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-8qrg-7j2f-rf2h 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.
Vendor and project advisories, patches
- Vendor advisory (github.com) github.com
Vulnerability records
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-8qrg-7j2f-rf2h github.com
- CVE.org record CVE-2026-56265 cve.org
- NVD entry CVE-2026-56265 nvd.nist.gov
Other references from the CVE record and advisory
- github.com github.com
- VulnCheck Advisory: Crawl4AI - Authentication Bypass via Hardcoded JWT Signing Key vulncheck.com
- github.com github.com