GHSA-xfqj-r5qw-8g4j
Summary
Several API endpoints in authenticated mode have no authentication at all. They respond to completely unauthenticated requests with sensitive data or allow state-changing operations. No account, no session, no API key needed.
Verified against the latest version.
Discord: sagi03581
Steps to Reproduce
1. Unauthenticated issue data access
GET /api/heartbeat-runs/:runId/issues returns issue data for a heartbeat run with zero authentication. Every other endpoint in server/src/routes/activity.ts calls assertCompanyAccess, but this one was missed.
curl -s http://<target>:3100/api/heartbeat-runs/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001/issues
## -> [] (HTTP 200, not 401 or 403)If an attacker obtains a valid run UUID (from logs, error messages, shared URLs, or by probing), they can read issue data without any credentials.
2. Unauthenticated CLI auth challenge creation
POST /api/cli-auth/challenges creates a CLI authentication challenge with no actor check at all. The handler at server/src/routes/access.ts:1638-1659 skips any auth verification.
curl -s -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"command":"test"}' \
http://<target>:3100/api/cli-auth/challenges
## returns challenge ID, token, and a pre-generated board API keyThe response includes a boardApiToken that becomes active once the challenge is approved. Combined with open registration (separate report), this enables persistent API key generation.
3. Unauthenticated agent instruction / system prompt leakage
These endpoints in server/src/routes/access.ts require no authentication:
curl -s http://<target>:3100/api/skills/index
## returns all available skill endpoints
curl -s http://<target>:3100/api/skills/paperclip
## returns the FULL agent heartbeat procedure including:
## - every API endpoint and its parameters
## - authentication mechanism (env var names, header formats)
## - the complete agent coordination protocol
## - the agent creation/hiring workflow
curl -s http://<target>:3100/api/skills/paperclip-create-agent
## returns the full agent creation workflow with adapter configsThis hands an attacker a complete map of the internal API without authenticating. It also leaks how agents authenticate, how heartbeats work, and what adapter configurations are available.
4. Unauthenticated deployment configuration disclosure
GET /api/health returns deployment mode, exposure setting, auth status, bootstrap status, version, and feature flags.
curl -s http://<target>:3100/api/health
## {
## "deploymentMode": "authenticated",
## "deploymentExposure": "public",
## "authReady": true,
## "bootstrapStatus": "ready",
## "version": "2026.403.0",
## ...
## }Tells an attacker exactly how the instance is configured, whether registration is available, and what version is running.
Impact
- Data exposure: heartbeat run issues accessible without credentials. Agent instructions and full API structure exposed to anyone.
- Reconnaissance: an attacker can fingerprint the deployment (mode, version, features) and map the entire internal API before attempting anything else.
- Auth bypass stepping stone: unauthenticated CLI challenge creation is a building block for the full RCE chain (reported separately).
Suggested Fixes
- Add authentication to heartbeat run issues in
server/src/routes/activity.ts:
GET /api/heartbeat-runs/:runId/issues-- addassertCompanyAccesslike every other endpoint in the same file
- Add authentication to CLI challenge creation in
server/src/routes/access.ts:
POST /api/cli-auth/challenges-- addassertBoardat minimum
- Add authentication to skill endpoints in
server/src/routes/access.ts:
GET /api/skills/availableGET /api/skills/indexGET /api/skills/:skillName
- Reduce health endpoint information -- consider removing
deploymentMode,deploymentExposure, andversionfrom the unauthenticated response, or gating the full response behindassertBoard - Consider a global auth rejection middleware for all
/api/*routes inauthenticatedmode. Currently unauthenticated requests getactor: { type: "none" }and pass through tonext(), relying on each route handler to check individually. A missing check means an open endpoint. Rejectingtype: "none"at the middleware level for all routes except an explicit public allowlist (health, sign-in, sign-up, webhooks) would prevent this class of bug entirely.
Contact
Discord: sagi03581
Happy to help verify fixes or provide additional details.
Package Versions Affected
Automatically patch vulnerabilities without upgrading
CVSS Version



Related Resources
References
https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/security/advisories/GHSA-xfqj-r5qw-8g4j, https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip
