Is CVE-2026-61740 exploited in the wild?

No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-61740 being exploited in the wild.

How severe is CVE-2026-61740?

Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 4, published 15 July 2026.

Which products and versions are affected?

HKUDS LightRAG < 1.5.4; lightrag-hku (PyPI) < 1.5.4, ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=1.5.4.

Is there a fix for CVE-2026-61740?

Yes. lightrag-hku (PyPI): upgrade to 1.5.4 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

How is CVE-2026-61740 attacked?

It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

Am I affected by CVE-2026-61740?

Check whether you run HKUDS LightRAG or lightrag-hku (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.

CVE-2026-61740: HKUDS LightRAG authentication bypass in API-key-only mode

Q: Which products and versions are affected?

HKUDS LightRAG < 1.5.4; lightrag-hku (PyPI) < 1.5.4, ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=1.5.4.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2026-61740?

Yes. lightrag-hku (PyPI): upgrade to 1.5.4 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

Q: How is CVE-2026-61740 attacked?

It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

Q: Am I affected by CVE-2026-61740?

Check whether you run HKUDS LightRAG or lightrag-hku (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.

CVE-2026-61740 · Severity: critical · CVSS 4 · Published 2026-07-15

LightRAG, an open-source knowledge graph library, contains a security flaw that allows unauthorized individuals to bypass its API key protection. When configured in its standard API-key mode, the system uses a publicly known secret key to sign security tokens, allowing anyone to create their own valid credentials. An attacker can use this to read, modify, or delete sensitive documents and knowledge graphs, potentially leading to data loss or unauthorized use of expensive AI services.

Technologies: HKUDS LightRAG, lightrag-hku (PyPI). Vendors: HKUDS, PyPI.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-61740 exploited in the wild?: No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-61740 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-61740?: Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 4, published 15 July 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?: HKUDS LightRAG < 1.5.4; lightrag-hku (PyPI) < 1.5.4, ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=1.5.4.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-61740?: Yes. lightrag-hku (PyPI): upgrade to 1.5.4 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-61740 attacked?: It is attacked over the network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-61740?: Check whether you run HKUDS LightRAG or lightrag-hku (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

lightrag-hku (PyPI): upgrade to 1.5.4 or later
```
pip install "lightrag-hku>=1.5.4"
```

Technical details

LightRAG is vulnerable to an authentication bypass when deployed with LIGHTRAG_API_KEY enabled but AUTH_ACCOUNTS disabled. The vulnerability stems from three factors: the use of a hardcoded DEFAULT_TOKEN_SECRET in the source code, an unauthenticated /auth-status endpoint that issues guest JWTs signed with this secret, and a short-circuit in the combined_dependency function that accepts any valid guest token before checking the X-API-Key header. A remote attacker can either obtain a guest token from the server or mint one offline using the known secret to gain full access to the API. This allows for unauthorized document deletion, data ingestion, and knowledge graph manipulation. The issue is resolved in version 1.5.4.

Affected products

HKUDS lightrag-hku < 1.5.4

Identifiers

CVE-2026-61740
GHSA-f4vv-55c2-5789
PYSEC-2026-3475

Timeline

2026-06-24: disclosed: Initial disclosure to HKUDS/LightRAG
2026-07-15: advisory: NVD publication date
2026-07-20: patched: GitHub Advisory published and fix confirmed in v1.5.4

References

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