Summary
langgraph-api: Incomplete assistant authorization in LangGraph Server run creation
In affected versions of langgraph-api (the LangGraph Server runtime), the run-creation path authorized the assistant attached to a run using a different authorization event than the rest of the assistant-handling code paths. Direct assistant reads and cron creation dispatch the assistants.read authorization event; run creation dispatched assistants.search with an incomplete value. In deployments whose custom authorization handlers register only an assistants.read handler (without an assistants.search handler and without a global fallback handler), no handler was consulted on the run-creation path, the returned filter set was empty, and the owner constraint was omitted from the resulting query.
As a result, in those deployments a request to create a run could reference a private assistant owned by another user, even where direct assistant reads, assistant search, and cron creation against that assistant were correctly denied. The run-creation response merged the referenced assistant's metadata, config, and context into fields returned to the requesting user. These fields can carry sensitive configuration; the runtime encrypts them at rest for that reason.
We have no evidence of this behavior occurring in the wild.
Affected users / systems
You may be affected if you:
- run
langgraph-api(the LangGraph Server / Agent Server runtime, including via the LangGraph Platform Helm chart), and - use custom authorization handlers that gate assistant access through an
assistants.readorassistants.searchhandler rather than a global handler covering all assistant events.
Deployments without custom authorization handlers, or whose handlers apply an equivalent owner filter across all assistant events (for example through a global handler), are not affected.
Patches / mitigation
Run creation, and the parallel cron-creation path, now dispatch the assistants.read authorization event in both the in-memory and gRPC/Postgres runtimes, matching direct assistant reads. Client-supplied run and cron metadata is no longer forwarded into that authorization event, so handlers receive a consistent value shape and determine access by returning an owner filter that is applied server-side. Fixed in langgraph-api 0.10.0.
This is a behavioral change for deployments with custom authorization handlers:
- Handlers that gated assistant access only through
assistants.searchduring run creation are no longer consulted on that path; provide an equivalentassistants.readhandler that returns the same owner filter. - The metadata field on the
assistants.readevent during run and cron creation is no longer populated; handlers that read or stamped it should move that logic into the run/cron create handlers.
Operational guidance
- Register an
assistants.readhandler (or a global handler covering it) that returns an owner-style filter, and confirm parity across the assistant read, search, and run/cron creation paths. - Upgrade to a release containing this change.
Impact
- Confidentiality: exposure of another user's private assistant
metadata,config, andcontextthrough the run-creation response. These fields can contain sensitive configuration. - Integrity: creation of a run associated with another user's private assistant, beyond the requesting user's authorization scope; the run is then carried out using that assistant's configuration.
CVE-2026-55236 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (0.10.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-55236? CVE-2026-55236 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in langgraph-api (pip), affecting versions < 0.10.0. It is fixed in 0.10.0.
- How severe is CVE-2026-55236? CVE-2026-55236 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of langgraph-api are affected by CVE-2026-55236? langgraph-api (pip) versions < 0.10.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-55236? Yes. CVE-2026-55236 is fixed in 0.10.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-55236 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-55236 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-55236 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-55236? Upgrade
langgraph-apito 0.10.0 or later.