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Chainlit AI framework bugs let hackers breach cloud environments

Recorded: Jan. 21, 2026, 11:03 p.m.

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Chainlit AI framework bugs let hackers breach cloud environments

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HomeNewsSecurityChainlit AI framework bugs let hackers breach cloud environments

Chainlit AI framework bugs let hackers breach cloud environments

By Bill Toulas

January 21, 2026
05:37 PM
0

Two high-severity vulnerabilities in Chainlit, a popular open-source framework for building conversational AI applications, allow reading any file on the server and leaking sensitive information.
The issues, dubbed 'ChainLeak' and discovered by Zafran Labs researchers, can be exploited without user interaction and impact "internet-facing AI systems that are actively deployed across multiple industries, including large enterprises."
The Chainlit AI app-building framework has an average of 700,000 monthly downloads on the PyPI registry and 5 million downloads per year.

It provides a ready-made web UI for chat-based AI parts, backend plumbing tools, and built-in support for authentication, session handling, and cloud deployment. It is typically used in enterprise deployments and academic institutions, and is found in internet-facing production systems.
The two security issues that Zafran researchers discovered are an arbitrary file read tracked as CVE-2026-22218, and a server-side request forgery (SSRF) tracked as CVE-2026-22219.
CVE-2026-22218 can be exploited via the /project/element endpoint and allows attackers to submit a custom element with a controlled ‘path’ field, forcing Chainlit to copy the file at that path into the attacker’s session without validation.
This results in attackers reading any file accessible to the Chainlit server, including sensitive information such as API keys, cloud account credentials, source code, internal configuration files, SQLite databases, and authentication secrets.

CVE-2026-22219 affects Chainlit deployments using the SQLAlchemy data layer, and is exploited by setting the ‘url’ field of a custom element, forcing the server to fetch the URL via an outbound GET request and storing the response.
Attackers may then retrieve the fetched data via element download endpoints, gaining access to internal REST services and probing internal IPs and services, the researchers say.

Zafran demonstrated that the two flaws can be combined into a single attack chain that enables full-system compromise and lateral movement in cloud environments.
The researchers notified the Chainlit maintainers about the flaws on November 23, 2025, and received an acknowledgment on December 9, 2025.
The vulnerabilities were fixed on December 24, 2025, with the release of Chainlit version 2.9.4.
Due to the severity and exploitation potential of CVE-2026-22218 and CVE-2026-22219, impacted organizations are recommended to upgrade to version 2.9.4 or later (the latest is 2.9.6) as soon as possible.

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SSRF
Vulnerability

Bill Toulas
Bill Toulas is a tech writer and infosec news reporter with over a decade of experience working on various online publications, covering open-source, Linux, malware, data breach incidents, and hacks.

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Chainlit, a popular open-source framework for building conversational AI applications, has been found to contain two critical vulnerabilities – CVE-2026-22218 and CVE-2026-22219 – that enable unauthorized access to server files and sensitive information. Zafran Labs researchers identified these flaws, which they dubbed ‘ChainLeak,’ impacting internet-facing AI systems deployed across diverse sectors including large enterprises and academic institutions. The framework, with an average of 700,000 monthly downloads from the PyPI registry and 5 million annual downloads, provides a ready-made web UI for chat-based AI, backend plumbing, and deployment support.

The primary vulnerability, CVE-2026-22218, stems from an arbitrary file read issue within the `/project/element` endpoint. Attackers can exploit this by submitting a custom element with a controlled ‘path’ field, forcing Chainlit to copy the specified file into the attacker’s session. This process bypasses standard validation, granting attackers access to any file accessible on the Chainlit server. Sensitive data, including API keys, cloud account credentials, source code, internal configuration files, SQLite databases, and authentication secrets, are all potentially obtainable through this method.

The secondary vulnerability, CVE-2026-22219, affects Chainlit deployments utilizing the SQLAlchemy data layer. It is exploited by setting the ‘url’ field of a custom element, prompting the server to fetch the URL via an outbound GET request and subsequently store the response. Attackers can then retrieve the fetched data using download endpoints, gaining access to internal REST services and probing internal IPs and services. Zafran Labs demonstrated a combined attack chain, showing that these vulnerabilities could be linked to achieve full system compromise and subsequent lateral movement within cloud environments.

The researchers notified Chainlit maintainers on November 23, 2025, receiving acknowledgment on December 9, 2025. The vulnerabilities were subsequently remediated with the release of Chainlit version 2.9.4 on December 24, 2025. Given the high severity and potential for exploitation, impacted organizations are instructed to upgrade to 2.9.4 or later (currently version 2.9.6) as quickly as possible. The combination of these flaws highlights a significant risk for applications leveraging the Chainlit framework, particularly those exposed to the internet.