CVE-2026-55538 PraisonAI: [Auth Bypass] `praisonai serve agents --api-key` is silently ignored — agent-invocation routes (`POST /agents`, `POST /agents/{agent_name}`) run unauthenticated
Attackers can execute agents without authentication because API key checks are ignored, allowing unauthorized code execution in PraisonAI deployments.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-55538?
CVE-2026-55538 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in MervinPraison PraisonAI, published on 25 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
PraisonAI is a multi-agent teams system. Prior to praisonai 4.6.51, praisonai serve agents parses config["api_key"] but _create_agents_app() does not authenticate POST /agents or POST /agents/{agent_name}. Missing or incorrect bearer and X-API-Key values still reach agent execution. This issue is fixed in version 4.6.58.
Weakness: CWE-306
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-55538?
3 open source packages ship an affected version, including praisonai and PraisonAI.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
praisonai PyPI | All versions | 4.6.58 |
praisonai PyPI | All versions | 4.6.58 |
PraisonAI PyPI | All versions | 4.6.58 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-55538?
Upgrade praisonai to 4.6.58 or later.
Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.
Is CVE-2026-55538 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-55538 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-r7v3-x45f-g7hp, PYSEC-2026-3894.