Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-41679 is a critical-severity Improper Authentication (CWE-287) vulnerability in Paperclip Paperclipai. Its CVSS base score is 10.0 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Default Accounts (T1078.001); ranked in the top 14% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
This vulnerability is AI-related — categorised as AI Agent Protocols and Integrations; in the Supply Chain and Deployment risk domain.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-24 (Access Control Decisions) and AC-25 (Reference Monitor) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-41679 is a critical remote code execution vulnerability affecting Paperclip, a Node.js server and React UI application designed to orchestrate teams of AI agents for business operations. The flaw exists in versions prior to 2026.416.0, specifically impacting instances running in authenticated mode under default configuration. It stems from issues mapped to CWE-287 (Improper Authentication), CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), and CWE-1188 (Insecure Default Initialization of Resource), earning a CVSS v3.1 base score of 10.0 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this vulnerability against any network-accessible Paperclip instance by sending a chain of six API calls, requiring only the target's address and no credentials or user interaction. The attack is fully automated and targets the default deployment configuration, enabling full remote code execution on the server.
The official advisory from the Paperclip GitHub security page (GHSA-68qg-g8mg-6pr7) confirms that upgrading to version 2026.416.0 fully patches the issue. Security practitioners should immediately verify deployments, apply the update, and restrict network exposure to Paperclip instances until patched, given the vulnerability's high severity and ease of exploitation.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-25166
Vulnerability Data
Paperclip is a Node.js server and React UI that orchestrates a team of AI agents to run a business. Prior to version 2026.416.0, an unauthenticated attacker can achieve full remote code execution on any network-accessible Paperclip instance running in `authenticated`…
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mode with default configuration. No user interaction, no credentials, just the target's address. The chain consists of six API calls. The attack is fully automated, requires no user interaction, and works against the default deployment configuration. Version 2026.416.0 patches the issue.
- CWE(s)
AI Security AnalysisAI
- AI Category
- AI Agent Protocols and Integrations
- Risk Domain
- Supply Chain and Deployment
- OWASP Top 10 for LLMs 2025
- None mapped
- Classification Reason
- Matched keywords: ai
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 26 hardening rules · 8 OS baselines
V14.3.2V6.3.2V11.3.1V13.2.3
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
AC-3 directly requires enforcement of authorization decisions on every access request, structurally eliminating missing authorization checks.
Mandates unique identification and authentication of organizational users before access, directly stopping improper authentication.
Requires unique identification and authentication of devices before establishing connections, preventing unauthenticated device claims.
Mandates unique identification and authentication of non-organizational users, directly addressing the weakness for external actors.
AC-24 mandates that access control decisions are applied to each request, preventing bypass of authorization logic.
AC-25 requires a tamperproof, always-invoked reference monitor that ensures authorization checks cannot be omitted.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Explicitly requires defining, enforcing, and reviewing authorizations and least privilege, directly preventing missing authorization checks.
Hardened baselines and configuration management directly replace insecure defaults with secure settings.
PR.AA-03 directly enforces authentication mechanisms that eliminate most improper-authentication defects, yet CWE-287 spans additional vectors (missing checks, flawed protocols, session handling) that one control does not fully close.
PR.AA-04 directly enables verification of identity assertions (mostly preventing CWE-287 in that scope) yet leaves many other authentication failure modes unaddressed (only partial prevention overall).
Secure development practices include designing products with secure defaults rather than insecure ones.
Pre-acquisition integrity checks can reject products known to ship with insecure defaults.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Requiring authentication methods whose strength matches the sensitivity of the data and mandating multi-factor authentication directly blocks attempts to access resources without proving identity.
Verifying user identity before issuing replacement credentials and forcing changes after compromise reduces the likelihood that authentication bypass can be achieved through stolen or weak credentials.
Requiring authentication and credentials before any access occurs eliminates the absence of authorization checks that would otherwise allow an unauthenticated actor to reach protected resources.
Mandating secure baseline templates and immediate replacement of vendor defaults directly stops systems from being deployed with insecure factory settings that attackers can exploit.
Requiring formal authorization of every access request before rights are granted ensures that checks for required permissions are performed, preventing missing authorization checks from being introduced.
Mandating segregated approval and oversight for non-human identities reduces the chance that weak or orphaned credentials can be exploited for unauthorized authentication.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (4 rules)
- V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-287
- V-248581 OL 8 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862
- V-248823 OL 8 must not have the telnet-server package installed. prevents CWE-1188
RHEL 7 (6 rules)
- V-204627 SNMP community strings on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be changed from the default. prevents CWE-1188
- V-204425 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the SSH daemon does not allow authentication using an empty password. prevents CWE-287
- V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-287
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230492 RHEL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-287
Ubuntu 22.04 (2 rules)
- V-260470 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, when booted, must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-287
- V-260529 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must be configured so that remote X connections are disabled, unless to fulfill documented and validated mission requirements. prevents CWE-1188
Ubuntu 24.04 (3 rules)
- V-270675 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS when booted must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-287
- V-270708 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must be configured so that remote X connections are disabled, unless to fulfill documented and validated mission requirements. prevents CWE-1188
- V-270714 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must not allow accounts configured in Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) with blank or null passwords. prevents CWE-287
Windows Server 2016 (1 rule)
- V-224972 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-1188
Windows Server 2019 (1 rule)
- V-205741 Windows Server 2019 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-1188