# CVE-2026-40117: MervinPraison PraisonAIAgents arbitrary file read in read_skill_file

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-40117-mervinpraison-praisonaiagents-arbitrary-file-read-in-read-skill  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-04-09. Updated: 2026-05-10  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-40117 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.2 · Published 2026-04-09

PraisonAIAgents is a framework for building AI agents. A security flaw in its file-reading tool allows an AI agent—potentially manipulated by malicious input—to read any file on the host system, such as passwords or private keys, without the user's permission. This could lead to the theft of sensitive credentials and private data.

Technologies: [MervinPraison PraisonAI Agents](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/praisonai-agents), [Praisonaiagents](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/praisonaiagents), [praisonaiagents (PyPI)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/pypi-praisonaiagents). Vendors: [MervinPraison](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/mervinpraison), [Praison](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/praison), [PyPI](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/pypi).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-40117 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-40117 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-40117?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.2, published 9 April 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** praisonaiagents (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=1.5.128.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-40117?** Yes. praisonaiagents (PyPI): upgrade to 1.5.128 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-40117 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-40117?** Check whether you run MervinPraison PraisonAI Agents, Praisonaiagents or praisonaiagents (PyPI) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- praisonaiagents (PyPI): upgrade to 1.5.128 or later

  ```sh
  pip install "praisonaiagents>=1.5.128"
  ```


## Technical details

The `read_skill_file` function in `skill_tools.py` fails to validate that the `skill_path` parameter remains within the intended workspace directory. While it contains a check to prevent directory traversal within the provided path, the base path itself is unrestricted and can be set to absolute system directories (e.g., `/etc` or `/root/.ssh`). Additionally, unlike other dangerous tools in the suite, this function was not protected by the `@require_approval` decorator or included in the `DEFAULT_DANGEROUS_TOOLS` registry. An attacker leveraging prompt injection can trigger this tool to read and return sensitive files like `/etc/shadow` or environment variables containing API keys. The vulnerability is addressed in version 1.5.128.

## Affected products

- MervinPraison praisonaiagents < 1.5.128

## Identifiers

- CVE-2026-40117
- GHSA-grrg-5cg9-58pf
- PYSEC-2026-2949

## Timeline

- 2026-04-09: disclosed
- 2026-04-10: advisory: GitHub Advisory GHSA-grrg-5cg9-58pf published
- 2026-04-10: patched: Version 1.5.128 released

## References

- [https://api.github.com/users/offset](https://api.github.com/users/offset)
- [https://github.com/offset](https://github.com/offset)
- [https://api.github.com/users/offset/gists%7B/gist_id%7D](https://api.github.com/users/offset/gists%7B/gist_id%7D)
- [https://api.github.com/users/offset/repos](https://api.github.com/users/offset/repos)
- [https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/114768995?v=4](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/114768995?v=4)
- [https://api.github.com/users/offset/events%7B/privacy%7D](https://api.github.com/users/offset/events%7B/privacy%7D)

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