GHSA-365w-hqf6-vxfg: Multiple Critical Vulnerabilities in Crawl4AI Docker API Server

Vulnerability ID: GHSA-365W-HQF6-VXFG
CVSS Score: 9.8
Published: 2026-06-16

The Crawl4AI Docker API server, in versions 0.8.6 and prior, contains multiple critical vulnerabilities including improper path sanitization, missing authentication on administration routes, hardcoded JWT secrets, and SSRF. These vulnerabilities allow remote, unauthenticated attackers to write arbitrary files, execute arbitrary code, and pivot into private cloud environments.

TL;DR

Multiple critical security vulnerabilities in Crawl4AI versions <= 0.8.6 allow unauthenticated arbitrary file write, SSRF, dynamic code execution, and authentication bypass.

⚠️ Exploit Status: POC

Technical Details

• CWE ID: CWE-798, CWE-22, CWE-918, CWE-94, CWE-306, CWE-79
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
• CVSS Score: 9.8 (Critical)
• Exploit Status: Proof-of-Concept
• CISA KEV Status: Not Listed
• Impact: Arbitrary File Write, SSRF, Remote Code Execution

Affected Systems

• Crawl4AI Docker API Server <= 0.8.6
• crawl4ai: <= 0.8.6 (Fixed in: 0.8.7)

Code Analysis

Commit: 2fc39cb

Remove unsafe eval calls, harden JSON deserialization schemas via _safe_eval_config, restrict allowed builtins in hook_manager, and add test cases.

Commit: e326da9

Delete deprecated safe eval functions from extraction strategy and replace dynamic module imports via exec with explicit dynamic import mapping.

Mitigation Strategies

• Upgrade to version 0.8.7 or higher immediately
• Enforce the CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN environment variable
• Restrict network exposure of port 8000 using firewalls or VPNs
• Disable dynamic execution of JavaScript unless necessary

Remediation Steps:

1. Pull the latest Docker image or update the pip package to version 0.8.7
2. Configure CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN with a strong, unique secret
3. Define a custom JWT_SECRET_KEY in the environment if JWT auth is enabled
4. Configure host network security groups to block external unauthenticated access to the container

References

• GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-365w-hqf6-vxfg
• Crawl4AI Security Advisory

Read the full report for GHSA-365W-HQF6-VXFG on our website for more details including interactive diagrams and full exploit analysis.