CVE-2022-36069 — poetry
HIGHCVE-2022-36069 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.3) Code Injection vulnerability in poetry. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for poetry — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Poetry Argument Injection vulnerability can lead to local Code Execution
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.
- 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-2022-36069.
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
poetryReal-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
Observation
When handling dependencies that come from a Git repository instead of a registry, Poetry uses various commands, such as git clone. These commands are being constructed using user input (e.g. the repository URL). When building the commands, Poetry correctly avoids Command Injection vulnerabilities by passing an array of arguments instead of a command string. However, there is the possibility that a user input starts with a dash (-) and is therefore treated as an optional argument instead of a positional one. This can lead to Code Execution because some of the commands have options that can be leveraged to run arbitrary executables.
To clone a repository, Poetry builds a git clone command, but fails to validate or sanitize the repository location properly:
def clone(self, repository: str, dest: Path) -> str:
return self.run("clone", "--recurse-submodules", repository, str(dest))
Since this value comes from the pyproject.toml file, it can contain any character, including a leading dash.
Impact
This vulnerability can lead to Arbitrary Code Execution, which would lead to the takeover of the system. If a developer is exploited, the attacker could steal credentials or persist their access. If the exploit happens on a server, the attackers could use their access to attack other internal systems. Since this vulnerability requires a fair amount of user interaction, it is not as dangerous as a remotely exploitable one. However, it still puts developers at risk when dealing with untrusted files in a way they think is safe, because the exploit still works when the victim tries to make sure nothing can happen, e.g. by vetting any Git or Poetry config files that might be present in the directory. This kind of attack vector has been used in the past to target security researchers by sending them projects to collaborate on, so we believe that there is a non-negligible risk.
Patches
1.1.8 || 1.2.0b1
Remediation
Upgrade to version 1.1.9 || 1.2.0b1
References
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, email us at [email protected]
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | poetry | all versions | 1.1.9pip install --upgrade 'poetry==1.1.9' |
Affected Products
poetrypython-poetryResearch 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 poetry, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update poetry to 1.1.9 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-36069 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-36069 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.