GHSA-5h3g-px23-w6vw
GHSA-5h3g-px23-w6vw is a Path Traversal vulnerability in mvt. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-5h3g-px23-w6vw is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Mobile Verification Toolkit (MVT): Path Traversal via unsanitized File identifiers in iOS Backup processing
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-5h3g-px23-w6vw.
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.
Real-World Exposure
mvtReal-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 fileID field from Manifest.db (a SQLite database inside iOS backups, generated by the device) is used directly in filesystem path construction without validation. This affects two commands through a shared code path:
mvt-ios decrypt-backup(decrypt.py):file_idis used to construct both read source and write destination paths. Traversal sequences infile_idcause decrypted content to be written to an arbitrary location on the analyst's filesystem.mvt-ios check-backup(via_get_backup_file_from_id()inios/modules/base.py): the same unvalidatedfileIDresolves to files outside the backup directory, which are then opened and parsed. Parsed contents flow into JSON results and CSV timeline.
Impact
File write (decrypt-backup): An adversary delivering a crafted iOS backup can cause attacker controlled content to be written to arbitrary paths writable by the analyst process. This could be leveraged for code execution via shell profile modification or SSH key injection. Severity is assessed as Moderate because exploitation requires a specifically crafted malicious bundle to be parsed by the analyst. There are trust mitigations between stakeholders involved in the handoff of the sample that reduce the likelihood of this scenario.
File read (check-backup): An adversary can force MVT to open and parse files outside the backup directory. Practical exploitation is reduced as it requires the attacker to know or guess the analyst’s directory layout for cross-case targeting, and the traversed file from the host must be a valid SQLite database or plist whose schema matches what the specific MVT module expects.
Patched version
Credits
This issue was identified during a security assessment conducted by 0xche.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | mvt | all versions | 2026.5.12 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for mvt. 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 mvt to 2026.5.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5h3g-px23-w6vw 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-5h3g-px23-w6vw 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-5h3g-px23-w6vw. 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-5h3g-px23-w6vw in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-5h3g-px23-w6vw across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.