An attacker who can influence the agents_file parameter - via CLI arguments, malicious configuration files, or upstream API input - can break out of the string literal context to inject arbitrary Python code. This injected code is subsequently executed when the generated Python script is invoked via subprocess.Popen() or when the Docker build process is initiated. The impact includes full command execution on the host machine running the deployment or build process, posing a significant risk to CI/CD pipelines and local development environments. This affects all versions up to and including 4.6.77.

Attack Chain

1. The attacker identifies a target PraisonAI instance or build pipeline that consumes an untrusted agents_file parameter.
2. The attacker crafts a malicious agents_file string containing a payload designed to close the existing f-string and inject Python commands (e.g., "); import os; os.system("id"); #).
3. The attacker triggers the deployment process (e.g., via a CLI command, API request, or by submitting a malicious repository configuration).
4. PraisonAI's deploy/api.py or deploy/docker.py script reads the malicious input.
5. The vulnerability in the module interpolates the payload into a string template, resulting in a malformed Python script containing the attacker's commands.
6. The subprocess.Popen() function is called to execute the generated server file.
7. The operating system executes the Python script, triggering the injected shell commands with the privileges of the PraisonAI process.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows for arbitrary code execution on the underlying host system. This could lead to full system compromise, exfiltration of credentials or sensitive data, and persistent access within a build environment if the target is an automated CI/CD pipeline.

Recommendation

1. Upgrade PraisonAI to a version later than 4.6.77 immediately.
2. Implement input validation for any user-provided path or file parameters used in deployment or configuration scripts.
3. Audit CI/CD pipelines for configurations that allow external input to influence the agents_file parameter in PraisonAI tasks.