CVE-2022-24840 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.1) Path Traversal vulnerability in django-s3file. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for django-s3file — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in django-s3file
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-24840.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-24840 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
django-s3fileReal-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
django-s3file is a lightweight file upload input for Django and Amazon S3 . In versions prior to 5.5.1 it was possible to traverse the entire AWS S3 bucket and in most cases to access or delete files. If the AWS_LOCATION setting was set, traversal was limited to that location only. The issue was discovered by the maintainer. There were no reports of the vulnerability being known to or exploited by a third party, prior to the release of the patch. The vulnerability has been fixed in version 5.5.1 and above. There is no feasible workaround. We must urge all users to immediately updated to a patched version.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | django-s3file | all versions | 5.5.1pip install --upgrade 'django-s3file==5.5.1' |
Research 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 django-s3file, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update django-s3file to 5.5.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-24840 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-24840 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-24840. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-24840 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-24840 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.