CVE-2008-0252 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in cherrypy. 4 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for cherrypy — see the affected versions and patch details below.
CherryPy Malicious cookies allow access to files outside the session directory
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
cherrypy🐍cherrypyReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Directory traversal vulnerability in the _get_file_path function in (1) lib/sessions.py in CherryPy 3.0.x up to 3.0.2, (2) filter/sessionfilter.py in CherryPy 2.1, and (3) filter/sessionfilter.py in CherryPy 2.x allows remote attackers to create or delete arbitrary files, and possibly read and write portions of arbitrary files, via a crafted session id in a cookie.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | cherrypy | all versions | 2.1.1pip install --upgrade 'cherrypy==2.1.1' |
| 🐍PyPI | cherrypy | ≥ 3.0&&< 3.0.2 | 3.0.2pip install --upgrade 'cherrypy==3.0.2' |
Affected Products
cherrypycherrypyResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for cherrypy, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update cherrypy to 2.1.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2008-0252 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2008-0252 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.