CVE-2024-53865
HIGHPython package "zhmcclient" has passwords in clear text in its HMC and API logs
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.
Blast Radius
zhmcclientReal-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
zhmcclient is a pure Python client library for the IBM Z HMC Web Services API. In affected versions the Python package "zhmcclient" writes password-like properties in clear text into its HMC and API logs in the following cases: 1. The 'boot-ftp-password' and 'ssc-master-pw' properties when creating or updating a partition in DPM mode, in the zhmcclient API and HMC logs. 2. The 'ssc-master-pw' and 'zaware-master-pw' properties when updating an LPAR in classic mode, in the zhmcclient API and HMC logs. 3. The 'ssc-master-pw' and 'zaware-master-pw' properties when creating or updating an image activation profile in classic mode, in the zhmcclient API and HMC logs. 4. The 'password' property when creating or updating an HMC user, in the zhmcclient API log. 5. The 'bind-password' property when creating or updating an LDAP server definition, in the zhmcclient API and HMC logs. This issue affects only users of the zhmcclient package that have enabled the Python loggers named "zhmcclient.api" (for the API log) or "zhmcclient.hmc" (for the HMC log) and that use the functions listed above. This issue has been fixed in zhmcclient version 1.18.1. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | zhmcclient | all versions | 1.18.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for zhmcclient. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update zhmcclient to 1.18.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-53865 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2024-53865 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2024-53865. 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-2024-53865 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2024-53865 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.