Paperclip: Privilege Escalation via Agent-Controlled workspaceStrategy.provisionCommand Leading to OS Command Execution

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2026-41208: 0.59% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 48.29 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary Paperclip contains a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows an attacker with an Agent API key to execute arbitrary OS commands on the Paperclip server host. An attacker with an agent credential can escalate privileges from the agent runtime to the Paperclip server host. The vulnerability occurs because agents are allowed to update their own adapterConfig via the /agents/:id API endpoint. The configuration field adapterConfig.workspaceStrategy.provisionCommand is later executed by the server runtime using: As a result, an attacker controlling an agent credential can inject arbitrary shell commands which are executed by the Paperclip server during workspace provisioning. This breaks the intended trust boundary between agent runtime configuration and server host execution, allowing a compromised or malicious agent to escalate privileges and run commands on the host system. This vulnerability allows remote code execution on the server host. Details Rootcause Agent…

Published by the source

16 Apr 2026, 22:45 UTC

Last modified by the source

5 May 2026, 16:11 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 12:50 UTC

1. Revision 2 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-265w-rf2w-cjh4

2. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GHSA-265w-rf2w-cjh4

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-41208

Advisory: Paperclip: Privilege Escalation via Agent-Controlled workspaceStrategy.provisionCommand Leading to OS Command Execution
IDs: CVE-2026-41208, GHSA-265w-rf2w-cjh4
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-41208 (revision 2, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 12:50 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.8)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: @paperclipai/server 2026.416.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm @paperclipai/server: affected < 2026.416.0; fixed in 2026.416.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls @paperclipai/server --all`: lists every installed copy and version, including transitive ones. Run in the project root after `npm ci`.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on @paperclipai/server.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-265w-rf2w-cjh4 (OSV record GHSA-265w-rf2w-cjh4 lists affected ranges: npm @paperclipai/server >=0 <2026.416.0 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-265w-rf2w-cjh4 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-265w-rf2w-cjh4 lists affected ranges: npm @paperclipai/server >=0 <2026.416.0)

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