diff --git a/datafusion/physical-plan/src/execution_plan.rs b/datafusion/physical-plan/src/execution_plan.rs
index 2605e26c3c7f..b39349433e36 100644
--- a/datafusion/physical-plan/src/execution_plan.rs
+++ b/datafusion/physical-plan/src/execution_plan.rs
@@ -570,6 +570,29 @@ pub trait ExecutionPlan: Debug + DisplayAs + Send + Sync {
             child_pushdown_result,
         ))
     }
+
+    /// Injects arbitrary run-time state into this execution plan, returning a new plan
+    /// instance that incorporates that state *if* it is relevant to the concrete
+    /// node implementation.
+    ///
+    /// This is a generic entry point: the `state` can be any type wrapped in
+    /// `Arc<dyn Any + Send + Sync>`.  A node that cares about the state should
+    /// down-cast it to the concrete type it expects and, if successful, return a
+    /// modified copy of itself that captures the provided value.  If the state is
+    /// not applicable, the default behaviour is to return `None` so that parent
+    /// nodes can continue propagating the attempt further down the plan tree.
+    ///
+    /// For example, [`WorkTableExec`](crate::work_table::WorkTableExec)
+    /// down-casts the supplied state to an `Arc<WorkTable>`
+    /// in order to wire up the working table used during recursive-CTE execution.
+    /// Similar patterns can be followed by custom nodes that need late-bound
+    /// dependencies or shared state.
+    fn with_new_state(
+        &self,
+        _state: Arc<dyn Any + Send + Sync>,
+    ) -> Option<Arc<dyn ExecutionPlan>> {
+        None
+    }
 }
 
 /// [`ExecutionPlan`] Invariant Level
diff --git a/datafusion/physical-plan/src/lib.rs b/datafusion/physical-plan/src/lib.rs
index 22ae859e8c5b..a4798536388f 100644
--- a/datafusion/physical-plan/src/lib.rs
+++ b/datafusion/physical-plan/src/lib.rs
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ pub use crate::ordering::InputOrderMode;
 pub use crate::stream::EmptyRecordBatchStream;
 pub use crate::topk::TopK;
 pub use crate::visitor::{accept, visit_execution_plan, ExecutionPlanVisitor};
+pub use crate::work_table::WorkTable;
 pub use spill::spill_manager::SpillManager;
 
 mod ordering;
diff --git a/datafusion/physical-plan/src/recursive_query.rs b/datafusion/physical-plan/src/recursive_query.rs
index 210db90c3c7f..99b460dfcfdc 100644
--- a/datafusion/physical-plan/src/recursive_query.rs
+++ b/datafusion/physical-plan/src/recursive_query.rs
@@ -351,16 +351,16 @@ fn assign_work_table(
 ) -> Result<Arc<dyn ExecutionPlan>> {
     let mut work_table_refs = 0;
     plan.transform_down(|plan| {
-        if let Some(exec) = plan.as_any().downcast_ref::<WorkTableExec>() {
+        if let Some(new_plan) =
+            plan.with_new_state(Arc::clone(&work_table) as Arc<dyn Any + Send + Sync>)
+        {
             if work_table_refs > 0 {
                 not_impl_err!(
                     "Multiple recursive references to the same CTE are not supported"
                 )
             } else {
                 work_table_refs += 1;
-                Ok(Transformed::yes(Arc::new(
-                    exec.with_work_table(Arc::clone(&work_table)),
-                )))
+                Ok(Transformed::yes(new_plan))
             }
         } else if plan.as_any().is::<RecursiveQueryExec>() {
             not_impl_err!("Recursive queries cannot be nested")
diff --git a/datafusion/physical-plan/src/work_table.rs b/datafusion/physical-plan/src/work_table.rs
index e6179cd75ffb..076e30ab902d 100644
--- a/datafusion/physical-plan/src/work_table.rs
+++ b/datafusion/physical-plan/src/work_table.rs
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ impl ReservedBatches {
 /// See <https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/CTEReadme#How_Recursion_Works>
 /// This table serves as a mirror or buffer between each iteration of a recursive query.
 #[derive(Debug)]
-pub(super) struct WorkTable {
+pub struct WorkTable {
     batches: Mutex<Option<ReservedBatches>>,
 }
 
@@ -132,16 +132,6 @@ impl WorkTableExec {
         Arc::clone(&self.schema)
     }
 
-    pub(super) fn with_work_table(&self, work_table: Arc<WorkTable>) -> Self {
-        Self {
-            name: self.name.clone(),
-            schema: Arc::clone(&self.schema),
-            metrics: ExecutionPlanMetricsSet::new(),
-            work_table,
-            cache: self.cache.clone(),
-        }
-    }
-
     /// This function creates the cache object that stores the plan properties such as schema, equivalence properties, ordering, partitioning, etc.
     fn compute_properties(schema: SchemaRef) -> PlanProperties {
         PlanProperties::new(
@@ -184,10 +174,6 @@ impl ExecutionPlan for WorkTableExec {
         &self.cache
     }
 
-    fn children(&self) -> Vec<&Arc<dyn ExecutionPlan>> {
-        vec![]
-    }
-
     fn maintains_input_order(&self) -> Vec<bool> {
         vec![false]
     }
@@ -196,6 +182,10 @@ impl ExecutionPlan for WorkTableExec {
         vec![false]
     }
 
+    fn children(&self) -> Vec<&Arc<dyn ExecutionPlan>> {
+        vec![]
+    }
+
     fn with_new_children(
         self: Arc<Self>,
         _: Vec<Arc<dyn ExecutionPlan>>,
@@ -234,6 +224,29 @@ impl ExecutionPlan for WorkTableExec {
     fn partition_statistics(&self, _partition: Option<usize>) -> Result<Statistics> {
         Ok(Statistics::new_unknown(&self.schema()))
     }
+
+    /// Injects run-time state into this `WorkTableExec`.
+    ///
+    /// The only state this node currently understands is an [`Arc<WorkTable>`].
+    /// If `state` can be down-cast to that type, a new `WorkTableExec` backed
+    /// by the provided work table is returned.  Otherwise `None` is returned
+    /// so that callers can attempt to propagate the state further down the
+    /// execution plan tree.
+    fn with_new_state(
+        &self,
+        state: Arc<dyn Any + Send + Sync>,
+    ) -> Option<Arc<dyn ExecutionPlan>> {
+        // Down-cast to the expected state type; propagate `None` on failure
+        let work_table = state.downcast::<WorkTable>().ok()?;
+
+        Some(Arc::new(Self {
+            name: self.name.clone(),
+            schema: Arc::clone(&self.schema),
+            metrics: ExecutionPlanMetricsSet::new(),
+            work_table,
+            cache: self.cache.clone(),
+        }))
+    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]