GHSA-3gxm-wfjx-m847
GHSA-3gxm-wfjx-m847 is a security vulnerability in beets. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-3gxm-wfjx-m847 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
beets has a Cross-site Scripting vulnerability
Real-World Exposure
beetsReal-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
During code logic analyis, an area that may lead to unintended behavior under specific conditions was discovered.
Overview
- Verified Version:
80cd21554124da07d17a4f962c7d770a4f70d0f2 - Vulnerability Type: Stored XSS
- Affected Location:
beetsplug/web/templates/index.html:42 - Trigger Scenario: Metadata fields such as
title,lyrics, orcommentsare rendered with raw template interpolation and inserted into DOM via.html(...).
Root Cause
The bundled web UI uses Underscore template interpolation mode <%= ... %> for untrusted metadata fields. In this runtime, <%= ... %> is raw insertion and HTML escaping is only performed by <%- ... %>. Rendered output is then inserted with .html(...), allowing attacker-controlled markup to become active DOM.
Source-to-Sink Chain
- Source (attacker-controlled input)
- Item metadata values (for example
title,lyrics,comments) can contain attacker HTML payload.
- Data flow
- Templates in
beetsplug/web/templates/index.html:42-46,87-91render metadata with<%= ... %>. - Underscore runtime defines
<%= ... %>as raw interpolation (beetsplug/web/static/underscore.js:890-907).
- Sink (security-sensitive action)
- Frontend inserts rendered template output into DOM via
$(this.el).html(this.template(this.model.toJSON()));inbeetsplug/web/static/beets.js:182,208,220.
Exploitation Preconditions
- Victim opens the web UI page that renders attacker-controlled metadata.
- Metadata includes executable HTML/JS payload.
Risk
Stored payload executes in the web UI context and can perform actions available to that origin.
Impact
Attacker can run arbitrary JavaScript in the victim browser, exfiltrate viewable data, and perform UI-driven actions as the victim session.
Remediation
- Replace raw interpolation
<%= ... %>with escaped output<%- ... %>for untrusted fields. - Avoid
.html(...)for untrusted template output; use text-safe rendering. - Sanitize metadata values on ingest and before rendering, including attribute contexts.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | beets | all versions | 2.10.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for beets. 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 beets to 2.10.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-3gxm-wfjx-m847 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-3gxm-wfjx-m847 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-3gxm-wfjx-m847. 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-3gxm-wfjx-m847 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-3gxm-wfjx-m847 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.