CVE-2026-13446: Langflow Hard-Coded Credentials Flaw

CVE-2026-13446 Overview

CVE-2026-13446 is a hard-coded credentials vulnerability affecting IBM Langflow OSS versions 1.0.0 through 1.10.1. The flaw stems from embedded static credentials such as passwords or cryptographic keys used for inbound authentication, outbound communication to external components, or encryption of internal data. Because these secrets are shipped inside the product, any attacker with knowledge of the credentials can authenticate remotely without user interaction. The vulnerability is categorized under [CWE-798] Use of Hard-coded Credentials and carries a network attack vector with low complexity.

Critical Impact
Attackers can gain unauthenticated remote access to Langflow deployments and compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data processed by the platform.

Affected Products

Langflow Langflow OSS versions 1.0.0 through 1.10.1
Deployments running on Apple macOS
Deployments running on Linux and Microsoft Windows

Discovery Timeline

2026-07-17 - CVE-2026-13446 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-07-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-13446

Vulnerability Analysis

Langflow is an open-source framework for building agentic and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows. The affected versions ship with hard-coded credentials embedded directly in the codebase or distribution artifacts. These static secrets are identical across every installation of the same version, meaning a single leaked credential compromises every deployment worldwide.

The vulnerability enables unauthenticated attackers over the network to authenticate as a trusted principal, decrypt data protected by the embedded key, or impersonate the Langflow service when communicating with external components. Successful exploitation grants full read, write, and execution access to workflow definitions, connected models, and any downstream integrations Langflow orchestrates.

Root Cause

The root cause is the inclusion of static authentication material inside the Langflow OSS distribution. Rather than generating per-installation secrets during initialization or requiring operators to supply their own values, the software relies on constants baked into the source. Any actor who extracts the credential from a public build gains a universal key.

Attack Vector

An attacker reaches the vulnerable authentication surface over the network without prior credentials or user interaction. After extracting the hard-coded value from a publicly available Langflow OSS build, the attacker submits it to a target instance to authenticate, decrypt protected data, or intercept outbound traffic to external components.

No verified public exploit code or proof-of-concept has been published at the time of writing. See the IBM Support Page for authoritative technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-13446

Indicators of Compromise

Successful Langflow authentication events from unexpected external IP addresses or geographies
Unexplained changes to flow definitions, credentials stores, or connected component configurations
Outbound connections from Langflow hosts to unknown model providers, webhooks, or storage endpoints
Access to Langflow API endpoints without a preceding legitimate login sequence

Detection Strategies

Inventory all Langflow OSS installations and confirm versions against the 1.0.0 through 1.10.1 vulnerable range
Review authentication logs for repeated logins using identical session tokens or API keys across distinct source addresses
Compare cryptographic key material and default account hashes against known hard-coded values published in the vendor advisory

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward Langflow application, container, and reverse-proxy logs to a centralized analytics platform for correlation
Alert on any Langflow administrative API calls originating outside approved management networks
Baseline outbound traffic from Langflow workloads and alert on new destinations, especially LLM and cloud storage endpoints

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-13446

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Langflow OSS to a fixed release published after version 1.10.1 as identified in the IBM Support Page
Rotate every credential, API key, and encryption key that Langflow has stored or transmitted since deployment
Restrict network exposure of Langflow instances to trusted management networks until patching is complete
Audit connected external components for unauthorized access or configuration drift

Patch Information

IBM has published remediation guidance and fixed-version details on the IBM Support Page. Operators of Langflow OSS 1.0.0 through 1.10.1 should apply the vendor-supplied upgrade and follow the post-upgrade steps to replace any embedded secret material.

Workarounds

Place Langflow behind an authenticating reverse proxy or VPN that enforces its own strong authentication
Disable or firewall-block Langflow API and UI ports from all untrusted networks
Replace default configuration files with operator-generated secrets where the product supports overrides

bash

# Example: restrict Langflow exposure to loopback and require upstream auth
# Bind Langflow to localhost only
export LANGFLOW_HOST=127.0.0.1
export LANGFLOW_PORT=7860

# Front with an authenticating reverse proxy (nginx example)
# location / {
#     auth_request /_auth;
#     proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:7860;
# }