Remote code execution in pytorch lightning

Description

A remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability exists in the lightning-ai/pytorch-lightning library version 2.2.1 due to improper handling of deserialized user input and mismanagement of dunder attributes by the deepdiff library. The library uses deepdiff.Delta objects to modify application state based on frontend actions. However, it is possible to bypass the intended restrictions on modifying dunder attributes, allowing an attacker to construct a serialized delta that passes the deserializer whitelist and contains dunder attributes. When processed, this can be exploited to access other modules, classes, and instances, leading to arbitrary attribute write and total RCE on any self-hosted pytorch-lightning application in its default configuration, as the delta endpoint is enabled by default.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
critical
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2024-06-06 18:30:58 UTC
Updated
2024-10-16 18:32:28 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2024-06-06 22:10:56 UTC
NVD published
2024-06-06

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
56.72% 98.04%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
9.8 3.0
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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: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:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
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.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-913 Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources
CWE-915 Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes

Credits

  • colbybr (analyst)

Affected packages (1)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
pip lightning < 2.3.3 2.3.3

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence