GHSA-5cx2-vq3h-x52c is a high-severity (CVSS 8.9) CWE-1188 vulnerability in apache-superset. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2024-01-08) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-5cx2-vq3h-x52c is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Apache superset missing check for default SECRET_KEY
Exploitation Status
Actively exploited in the wild
- Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2024-01-08. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2024-01-29.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for GHSA-5cx2-vq3h-x52c.
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-5cx2-vq3h-x52c 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 369,023 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
apache-supersetReal-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
Session Validation attacks in Apache Superset versions up to and including 2.0.1. Installations that have not altered the default configured SECRET_KEY according to installation instructions allow for an attacker to authenticate and access unauthorized resources. This does not affect Superset administrators who have changed the default value for SECRET_KEY config.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | apache-superset | all versions | 2.1.0 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Apache Superset 2.0.0 - Authentication Bypass
by MaanVader · May 23, 2023
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for apache-superset. 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 apache-superset to 2.1.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5cx2-vq3h-x52c 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-5cx2-vq3h-x52c 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-5cx2-vq3h-x52c. 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-5cx2-vq3h-x52c in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-5cx2-vq3h-x52c across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.