# CVE-2026-57148: PraisonAI JWT authentication bypass with hardcoded dev secret

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-57148-praisonai-jwt-authentication-bypass-with-hardcoded-dev-secret  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-09-15. Updated: 2026-09-26  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-57148 · Severity: critical · CVSS 9.8 · Published 2026-09-15

PraisonAI is an open-source multi-agent AI system that uses JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) to authenticate users and workspace owners. Prior to version 0.1.6, the system defaults to a publicly known hardcoded secret key for signing authentication tokens when configuration is incomplete. An unauthenticated attacker can forge valid authentication tokens to impersonate any user or workspace administrator, potentially gaining full control over the system and accessing sensitive data.

Technologies: [praisonai-platform (PyPI)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/praisonai-platform). Vendors: [PyPI](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/pypi).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-57148 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-57148 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-57148?** Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 9.8, published 15 September 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** praisonai-platform (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=0.1.6.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-57148?** Yes. praisonai-platform (PyPI): upgrade to 0.1.6 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-57148 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-57148?** Check whether you run praisonai-platform (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

- praisonai-platform (PyPI): upgrade to 0.1.6 or later

  ```sh
  pip install "praisonai-platform>=0.1.6"
  ```


## Technical details

The vulnerability is a hardcoded cryptographic key weakness in auth_service.py. When the PLATFORM_JWT_SECRET environment variable is unset and PLATFORM_ENV defaults to 'dev', the service falls back to the publicly known HS256 signing key 'dev-secret-change-me'. An unauthenticated attacker can craft a JWT with an arbitrary 'sub' (subject) claim containing any user or workspace identifier, sign it with this public key, and the AuthService._verify_token() method will accept it as a valid authenticated identity. No authentication guards are enforced because the PLATFORM_ENV setting also defaults to dev mode. The fix in version 0.1.6 removes the default to 'dev' mode and auto-generates a random ephemeral secret when PLATFORM_JWT_SECRET is unset in production.

## Affected products

- PraisonAI PraisonAI prior to 0.1.6

## Identifiers

- CVE-2026-57148
- GHSA-f38v-77qj-h4jq
- PYSEC-2026-3525

## Timeline

- 2026-09-15: disclosed
- 2026-06-02: patched: Fix merged in commit e0fb8e7; version 0.1.6 released

## References

- [https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/commit/e0fb8e7dd1ee6759c18ed07f436c21dbd9c20747](https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/commit/e0fb8e7dd1ee6759c18ed07f436c21dbd9c20747)
- [https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/pull/1793](https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/pull/1793)

## Related threats

- [PraisonAI missing authorization check on DELETE endpoints](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-57121-praisonai-missing-ownership-check-on-delete-endpoints-allows)
- [PraisonAI Platform authorization bypass in issue dependency deletion](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-62179-praisonai-platform-members-can-delete-owner-issue-dependencies)
- [PraisonAI JWT authentication bypass with hardcoded secret](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-57147-praisonai-jwt-authentication-bypass-with-hardcoded-secret)
- [PraisonAI Platform IDOR and privilege escalation in Platform API](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-48169-praisonai-platform-idor-and-privilege-escalation-in-platform-api)
- [MervinPraison PraisonAI Platform IDOR in agent CRUD endpoints](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-47419-mervinpraison-praisonai-platform-idor-in-agent-crud-endpoints)