CVE-2026-40156
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedPraisonAI 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.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidencePraiAI automatically imports and executes a tools.py file from the current working directory using importlib without any validation or user consent. An attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution by placing a malicious tools.py file in any directory where PraisonAI runs.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 4.5.128CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed PraisonAI versionRun 'pip show praisonai' or 'pip list | grep praisonai' to see the installed version numberAffected if Version is less than 4.5.128
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Locate tools.py files in your environmentSearch for any tools.py files in directories where you run or plan to run PraisonAI: 'find /path/to/your/directories -name tools.py 2>/dev/null'Affected if A tools.py file exists in any directory where PraisonAI executes and the version is vulnerable
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Verify directory write permissionsCheck which users have write access to directories where PraisonAI runs: 'ls -la /path/to/directory' for each working directoryAffected if Untrusted users can write files to directories where PraisonAI executes
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Inspect tools.py for malicious contentIf tools.py exists, review its contents: 'cat /path/to/directory/tools.py'Affected if The file contains unknown or suspicious code that you did not intentionally create
You are affected if you are running PraisonAI version below 4.5.128 AND have a tools.py file in any directory where PraisonAI runs, especially if untrusted users can write to that directory.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped4.5.128
Upgrade to PraisonAI version 4.5.128 or later, which removes the automatic tools.py loading. Additionally, ensure untrusted users cannot write files to directories where PraisonAI executes.
4.5.128
- Upgrade PraisonAI to version 4.5.128 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-40156 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-40156 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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