Description
Cognee thru v0.4.0 contains a critical remote code execution vulnerability in its notebook cell execution API endpoint. The endpoint is designed to execute arbitrary Python code provided by the user, but it does so using the unsafe exec() function without any sandboxing, validation, or security controls. An attacker can exploit this by sending a specially crafted POST request containing malicious Python code to the execution endpoint. This leads to arbitrary code execution on the Cognee server with the privileges of the server process, allowing complete compromise of the system.
Published: 2026-05-12
Score: 9.8 Critical
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

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Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

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Tracking

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History

Fri, 15 May 2026 21:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Title Cognee Remote Code Execution via Unsafe Notebook Cell Execution

Fri, 15 May 2026 19:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Title Arbitrary Code Execution via Unsandboxed exec() in Cognee Notebook API
Weaknesses CWE-20

Fri, 15 May 2026 18:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 9.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Wed, 13 May 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Topoteretes
Topoteretes cognee
Vendors & Products Topoteretes
Topoteretes cognee

Tue, 12 May 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Title Arbitrary Code Execution via Unsandboxed exec() in Cognee Notebook API
Weaknesses CWE-20
CWE-94

Tue, 12 May 2026 17:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Cognee thru v0.4.0 contains a critical remote code execution vulnerability in its notebook cell execution API endpoint. The endpoint is designed to execute arbitrary Python code provided by the user, but it does so using the unsafe exec() function without any sandboxing, validation, or security controls. An attacker can exploit this by sending a specially crafted POST request containing malicious Python code to the execution endpoint. This leads to arbitrary code execution on the Cognee server with the privileges of the server process, allowing complete compromise of the system.
References

Subscriptions

Topoteretes Cognee
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: mitre

Published:

Updated: 2026-05-15T18:05:30.352Z

Reserved: 2026-03-09T00:00:00.000Z

Link: CVE-2026-31231

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-05-15T17:15:01.043Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Deferred

Published: 2026-05-12T18:16:51.387

Modified: 2026-05-15T19:16:57.960

Link: CVE-2026-31231

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-05-15T21:30:08Z

Weaknesses