CVE-2023-50731 — mindsdb
CRITICALCVE-2023-50731 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.1) Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in mindsdb. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for mindsdb — see the affected versions and patch details below.
MindsDB has arbitrary file write in file.py
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-2023-50731 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 377,333 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
mindsdbReal-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
MindsDB is a SQL Server for artificial intelligence. Prior to version 23.11.4.1, the put method in mindsdb/mindsdb/api/http/namespaces/file.py does not validate the user-controlled name value, which is used in a temporary file name, which is afterwards opened for writing on lines 122-125, which leads to path injection. Later in the method, the temporary directory is deleted on line 151, but since we can write outside of the directory using the path injection vulnerability, the potentially dangerous file is not deleted. Arbitrary file contents can be written due to f.write(chunk) on line 125. Mindsdb does check later on line 149 in the save_file method in file-controller.py which calls the _handle_source method in file_handler.py if a file is of one of the types csv, json, parquet, xls, or xlsx. However, since the check happens after the file has already been written, the files will still exist (and will not be removed due to the path injection described earlier), just the _handle_source method will return an error. The same user-controlled source source is used also in another path injection sink on line 138. This leads to another path injection, which allows an attacker to delete any zip or tar.gz files on the server.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | mindsdb | all versions | 23.11.4.1pip install --upgrade 'mindsdb==23.11.4.1' |
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 mindsdb, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update mindsdb to 23.11.4.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-50731 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-2023-50731 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-50731. 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-2023-50731 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-50731 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.