GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm
HIGHGHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm is a high-severity (CVSS 8.4) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in skops. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
SKOPS Card.get_model happily allows arbitrary code execution
Blast Radius
skopsReal-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
The Card class of skops, used for model documentation and sharing, allows arbitrary code execution. When a file other than .zip is provided to the Card class during instantiation, the internally invoked Card.get_model method silently falls back to joblib without warning. Unlike the .skops zip-based format, joblib permits unrestricted code execution, hence bypassing the security measures of skops and enabling the execution of malicious code.
Details
The Card class supports loading the model linked to the card using the get_model method. When a .skops model is provided, it uses the load function from skops, which includes security mechanisms. The Card class also supports consistent management of the trusted list, which can be passed during instance creation. As expected, if a .skops model is provided without a trusted list and an untrusted type is encountered during loading, an error is raised. This behavior is consistent with the security principles of skops.
The problem arises when a file format other than .zip is provided. As shown in the code snippet below, in this case, the joblib library is used to load the model. This happens silently, without any warning or indication that joblib is being used. This is a significant security risk because joblib does not enforce the same security measures as skops, allowing arbitrary code execution.
# from `card/_model_card.py:354-358`
try:
if zipfile.is_zipfile(model_path):
model = load(model_path, trusted=trusted)
else:
model = joblib.load(model_path)
To increase the concern, get_model is actually called internally by skops during card creation, so the user does not need to call it explicitly—only to create the Card object passing a joblib file.
PoC
Consider the following example:
from skops.card import Card
card = Card("model.skops")
An attacker could share a model.skops file that, despite its name, is not a .zip file. In this case, the joblib.load function is called, allowing arbitrary code execution if the file is actually a pickle-like object. This is difficult for the user to detect, as the check is based on the file’s format, not its extension or name.
This vulnerability exists regardless of the trusted list provided (or omitted) during Card instance creation, and is unaffected by any other parameters. Moreover, it occurs at the time of Card instantiation.
Attack Scenario
An attacker can craft a malicious model file that, when used to instantiate a Card object, enables arbitrary code on the victim’s machine. This requires no user interaction beyond instantiating the Card object (not even explicit loading). Given that skops is often used in collaborative environments and is designed with security in mind, this vulnerability poses a significant threat.
Attachments
The complete PoC is available on GitHub at io-no/CVE-2025-54886.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | skops | all versions | 0.13.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for skops. 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 skops to 0.13.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm 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 GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm 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 GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.