CVE-2022-23531 | Arbitrary file write when scanning a specially-crafted local PyPI package

GuardDog is a CLI tool to identify malicious PyPI packages. Versions prior to 0.1.5 are vulnerable to Relative Path Traversal when scanning a specially-crafted local PyPI package. Running GuardDog against a specially-crafted package can allow an attacker to write an arbitrary file on the machine where GuardDog is executed due to a path traversal vulnerability when extracting the .tar.gz file of the package being scanned, which exists by design in the tarfile.TarFile.extractall function. This issue is patched in version 0.1.5.

Published: 2022-12-17 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-23531 is rated Low Risk (36/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.15%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-23531

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-01-03 0.13% 0.15% +0.02%
2 2025-11-21 0.46% 0.13% -0.33%
3 2025-11-18 0.46%

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-23531

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.8 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
1.6 3.7 [email protected]
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-23531

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-23531

GHSA-rp2v-v467-q9vq · Severity: low · Ecosystem: pip — GuardDog vulnerable to arbitrary file write when scanning a specially-crafted PyPI package

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-23531

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
datadoghq guarddog < 0.1.5 cpe:2.3:a:datadoghq:guarddog:*:*:*:*:*:python:*:*

References for CVE-2022-23531

cvelogic Threat Intelligence