Poetry: Untrusted Search Path
CVE-2022-26184 is a critical-severity untrusted search path vulnerability in Poetry from Python-poetry, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected Poetry versions: 1.1.9 and earlier. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.85% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 79% of scored CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Check which version of Poetry you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python-poetry | Poetry | 1.1.9 and earlier | Not stated |
Version data comes from NVD's product matching. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.8 | Critical | NVD |
| CVSS 2.0 | 7.5 | High | NVD |
Official description
Poetry v1.1.9 and below was discovered to contain an untrusted search path which causes the application to behave in unexpected ways when users execute Poetry commands in a directory containing malicious content. This vulnerability occurs when the application is ran on Windows OS.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Untrusted Search Path
The product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Hard-code the search path to a set of known-safe values (such as system directories), or only allow them to be specified by the administrator in a configuration file. Do not allow these settings to be modified by an external party. Be careful to avoid related weaknesses such as CWE-426 and CWE-428.
- When invoking other programs, specify those programs using fully-qualified pathnames. While this is an effective approach, code that uses fully-qualified pathnames might not be portable to other systems that do not use the same pathnames. The portability can be improved by locating the full-qualified paths in a centralized, easily-modifiable location within the source code, and having the code refer to these paths.
- Remove or restrict all environment settings before invoking other programs. This includes the PATH environment variable, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, and other settings that identify the location of code libraries, and any application-specific search paths.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
- github.com/python-poetry/poetry-core/pull/205/commits/fa9cb6f358ae840885c700f954317f34838caba7Third Party Advisory
- github.com/python-poetry/poetry/releases/tag/1.1.9Release Notes, Third Party Advisory
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in Poetry
- 8.7 High severity
- 7.3 High severity
- 7.3 High severity
Recent Untrusted Search Path vulnerabilities
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.0 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.3 High severity
- 6.9 Medium severity
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