How severe is CVE-2025-58438?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2025-58438 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2025-58438?

CVE-2025-58438 affects the following packages: internetarchive (PyPI). Ecosystems affected: PyPI.

How do I fix CVE-2025-58438?

Update internetarchive to 5.5.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-58438 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2025-58438 in my PyPI dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for internetarchive, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2025-58438 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.

Is CVE-2025-58438 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2025-58438 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2025-58438?

CVE-2025-58438 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.6%, placing it in the 76th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2025-58438?

CVE-2025-58438 is classified as Path Traversal (CWE-22). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2025-58438 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2025-58438 was published on September 6, 2025 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐍 PyPI

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2025-58438 — internetarchive

Fix: jjjake/internetarchive@cba2d45

CVE-2025-58438 is a Path Traversal vulnerability in internetarchive. A fix is available for internetarchive — see the affected versions and patch details below.

internetarchive is vulnerable to Directory Traversal through file downloads

Also known asGHSA-wx3r-v6h7-frjpPYSEC-2026-357

Published

Sep 6, 2025

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 6, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

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.
CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2025-58438.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk+0.01%

Lower risk than most CVEs76th percentile — riskier than 76% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐍internetarchive

Real-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

Impact

What kind of vulnerability is it? This is a Critical severity directory traversal (path traversal) vulnerability in the File.download() method of the internetarchive library.

Who is impacted? All users of the internetarchive library versions < 5.5.1 are impacted. The vulnerability is particularly critical for users on Windows systems, but all operating systems are affected.

Description of the vulnerability: The vulnerability existed because the file.download() method did not properly sanitize user-supplied filenames or validate the final download path. A maliciously crafted filename could contain path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../../../windows/system32/file.txt) or illegal characters that, when processed, would cause the file to be written outside of the intended target directory.

Potential Impact: An attacker could potentially overwrite critical system files or application configuration files, leading to a denial of service, privilege escalation, or remote code execution, depending on the context in which the library is used.

Patches

Has the problem been patched? Yes, the problem has been patched.

What versions should users upgrade to? Users must upgrade to version 5.5.1 or later.

Workarounds

Is there a way for users to fix or remediate the vulnerability without upgrading? There is no direct workaround that does not involve upgrading the library. The vulnerability is in the core logic of the file download process.

The only alternative for users who absolutely cannot upgrade is to implement their own custom download function that:

Manually sanitizes all filenames using a robust method.
Validates that the resolved absolute path of the download target is within the intended directory before writing any files.

However, this essentially re-implements the fix and is not recommended. Upgrading to the patched version is the only safe and supported solution.

References

Release Notes for v5.5.1
Commit with the fix
CVE Identifier: CVE-2025-58438

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐍PyPI	`internetarchive`	all versions	5.5.1`pip install --upgrade 'internetarchive==5.5.1'`

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for internetarchive, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update internetarchive to 5.5.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-58438 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact **What kind of vulnerability is it?** This is a **Critical** severity directory traversal (path traversal) vulnerability in the `File.download()` method of the `internetarchive` library. **Who is impacted?** All users of the `internetarchive` library versions `< 5.5.1` are impacted. The vulnerability is particularly critical for users on **Windows systems**, but all operating systems are affected. **Description of the vulnerability:** The vulnerability existed because the `file.download()` method did not properly sanitize user-supplied filenames or validate the final download path

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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