Headline

GHSA-5882-5rx9-xgxp: Crawl4AI is Vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in Docker API via Hooks Parameter

A critical remote code execution vulnerability exists in the Crawl4AI Docker API deployment. The /crawl endpoint accepts a hooks parameter containing Python code that is executed using exec(). The __import__ builtin was included in the allowed builtins, allowing attackers to import arbitrary modules and execute system commands.

Attack Vector:

POST /crawl
{
  "urls": ["https://example.com"],
  "hooks": {
    "code": {
      "on_page_context_created": "async def hook(page, context, **kwargs):\n    __import__('os').system('malicious_command')\n    return page"
    }
  }
}

Impact

An unauthenticated attacker can:

Execute arbitrary system commands
Read/write files on the server
Exfiltrate sensitive data (environment variables, API keys)
Pivot to internal network services
Completely compromise the server

Mitigation

Upgrade to v0.8.0 (recommended)
If unable to upgrade immediately:
- Disable the Docker API
- Block /crawl endpoint at network level
- Add authentication to the API

Fix Details

Removed __import__ from allowed_builtins in hook_manager.py
Hooks disabled by default (CRAWL4AI_HOOKS_ENABLED=false)
Users must explicitly opt-in to enable hooks

Credits

Discovered by Neo by ProjectDiscovery (https://projectdiscovery.io)

8 hours ago

ghsa

Open in Source

#vulnerability #js #git #intel #rce #auth #docker

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GitHub Advisory Database
GitHub Reviewed
GHSA-5882-5rx9-xgxp

Crawl4AI is Vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in Docker API via Hooks Parameter

Critical severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jan 16, 2026 in unclecode/crawl4ai • Updated Jan 16, 2026

Package

pip Crawl4AI (pip)

Affected versions

< 0.8.0

Description

A critical remote code execution vulnerability exists in the Crawl4AI Docker API deployment. The /crawl endpoint accepts a hooks parameter containing Python code that is executed using exec(). The import builtin was included in the allowed builtins, allowing attackers to import arbitrary modules and execute system commands.

Attack Vector:

POST /crawl { "urls": [“https://example.com”], "hooks": { "code": { "on_page_context_created": “async def hook(page, context, **kwargs):\n __import__(‘os’).system(‘malicious_command’)\n return page” } } }

Impact

An unauthenticated attacker can:

Execute arbitrary system commands
Read/write files on the server
Exfiltrate sensitive data (environment variables, API keys)
Pivot to internal network services
Completely compromise the server

Mitigation

Upgrade to v0.8.0 (recommended)
If unable to upgrade immediately:
- Disable the Docker API
- Block /crawl endpoint at network level
- Add authentication to the API

Fix Details

Removed import from allowed_builtins in hook_manager.py
Hooks disabled by default (CRAWL4AI_HOOKS_ENABLED=false)
Users must explicitly opt-in to enable hooks

Credits

Discovered by Neo by ProjectDiscovery (https://projectdiscovery.io)

References

GHSA-5882-5rx9-xgxp
https://github.com/unclecode/crawl4ai/blob/release/v0.8.0/docs/blog/release-v0.8.0.md
https://github.com/unclecode/crawl4ai/blob/release/v0.8.0/docs/migration/v0.8.0-upgrade-guide.md

Published to the GitHub Advisory Database

Jan 16, 2026

Last updated

Jan 16, 2026

EPSS score