Vulnerability · Published Apr 10, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-40156PraisonAI Affected by Implicit Execution of Arbitrary Code via Automatic `tools.py` Loading
High 7.8
In plain English
A high-severity code injection in PraisonAI from MervinPraison. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 11% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
PraisonAI is a multi-agent teams system. Prior to 4.5.128, PraisonAI automatically loads a file named tools.py from the current working directory to discover and register custom agent tools. This loading process uses importlib.util.spec_from_file_location and immediately executes module-level code via spec.loader.exec_module() without explicit user consent, validation, or sandboxing. The tools.py file is loaded implicitly, even when it is not referenced in configuration files or explicitly requested by the user. As a result, merely placing a file named tools.py in the working directory is sufficient to trigger code execution. This behavior violates the expected security boundary between user-controlled project files (e.g., YAML configurations) and executable code, as untrusted content in the working directory is treated as trusted and executed automatically. If an attacker can place a malicious tools.py file into a directory where a user or automated system (e.g., CI/CD pipeline) runs praisonai, arbitrary code execution occurs immediately upon startup, before any agent logic begins. This vulnerability is fixed in 4.5.128.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| PyPI | praisonai | 4.5.128 | GHSA-2g3w-cpc4-chr4 |
| PyPI | praisonai | 4.5.128 | PYSEC-2026-2895 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| MervinPraison | PraisonAI | < 4.5.128 |
Weakness: CWE-94, CWE-426, CWE-829 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H