GHSA-4r7v-whpg-8rx3 — changedetection-io
CRITICALGHSA-4r7v-whpg-8rx3 is a critical-severity (CVSS 10) CWE-1336 vulnerability in changedetection-io. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for changedetection-io — see the affected versions and patch details below.
changedetection.io has a Server Side Template Injection using Jinja2 which allows Remote Command 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.
- 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.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-4r7v-whpg-8rx3.
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-4r7v-whpg-8rx3 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE sits: patch-first territory.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
changedetection-ioReal-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
A Server Side Template Injection in changedetection.io caused by usage of unsafe functions of Jinja2 allows Remote Command Execution on the server host.
Details
changedetection.io version: 0.45.20
docker images
REPOSITORY TAG IMAGE ID CREATED SIZE
dgtlmoon/changedetection.io latest 53529c2e69f1 44 hours ago 423MB
The vulnerability is caused by the usage of vulnerable functions of Jinja2 template engine.
from jinja2 import Environment, BaseLoader
...
# Get the notification body from datastore
jinja2_env = Environment(loader=BaseLoader)
n_body = jinja2_env.from_string(n_object.get('notification_body', '')).render(**notification_parameters)
n_title = jinja2_env.from_string(n_object.get('notification_title', '')).render(**notification_parameters)
PoC
- Create/Edit a URL watch item
- Under Notifications tab insert this payload:
{{ self.__init__.__globals__.__builtins__.__import__('os').popen('id').read() }}
- See Telegram (or other supported messaging app) notification
Impact
In the PoC I've used id as payload and Telegram to read the result.
Attackers can run any system command without any restriction and they don't need to read the result in the notification app (e.g. they could use a reverse shell).
The impact is critical as the attacker can completely takeover the server host.
This can be reduced if changedetection access is protected by login page with a password, but this isn't required by the application (not by default and not enforced).
References
- https://www.hacktivesecurity.com/blog/2024/05/08/cve-2024-32651-server-side-template-injection-changedetection-io/
- https://book.hacktricks.xyz/pentesting-web/ssti-server-side-template-injection/jinja2-ssti
- https://www.onsecurity.io/blog/server-side-template-injection-with-jinja2/
- https://docs.cobalt.io/bestpractices/prevent-ssti/
Credits
Edoardo Ottavianelli
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | changedetection-io | all versions | 0.45.21pip install --upgrade 'changedetection-io==0.45.21' |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for changedetection-io, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update changedetection-io to 0.45.21 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-4r7v-whpg-8rx3 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-4r7v-whpg-8rx3 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-4r7v-whpg-8rx3. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect GHSA-4r7v-whpg-8rx3
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id ghsa-4r7v-whpg-8rx3 -u https://target- Template
- Change Detection - Server Side Template Injection
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- Unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary code on the server through Server Side Template Injection.
- Remediation
- Update changedetection.io to version 0.45.21 or later.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (edoardottt), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-4r7v-whpg-8rx3 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-4r7v-whpg-8rx3 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.