CVE-2024-45858 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) CWE-95 vulnerability in guardrails-ai. A fix is available for guardrails-ai — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Guardrails has an arbitrary code execution vulnerability
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-2024-45858.
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
guardrails-aiReal-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
An arbitrary code execution vulnerability exists in versions 0.2.9 up to 0.5.10 of the Guardrails AI Guardrails framework because of the way it validates XML files. If a victim user loads a maliciously crafted XML file containing Python code, the code will be passed to an eval function, causing it to execute on the user's machine.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | guardrails-ai | ≥ 0.2.9&&< 0.5.10 | 0.5.10pip install --upgrade 'guardrails-ai==0.5.10' |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for guardrails-ai, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update guardrails-ai to 0.5.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-45858 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-45858 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.