GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm is a high-severity (CVSS 8.4) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in skops. A fix is available for skops — see the affected versions and patch details below.
SKOPS Card.get_model happily allows arbitrary code execution
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 GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm.
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
GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm 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 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
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 | 0.13.0pip install --upgrade 'skops==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, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
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 Security finds GHSA-378x-6p4f-8jgm across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.