GHSA-5vmp-m5v2-hx47 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.2) CWE-1288 vulnerability in tough. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-5vmp-m5v2-hx47 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
tough root metadata version is not checked for sequential versioning
Real-World Exposure
toughReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects crates.io packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
When updating the root role, a TUF client must establish a trusted line of continuity to the latest set of keys. While sequentially downloading new versions of the root metadata file, tough will not check that the root object version it received was the next sequential version from the previously trusted root metadata.
Impact
The tough client will trust an outdated or rotated root role in the event that an actor with control of the storage medium of a trusted TUF repository inappropriately replaced the contents of one of the root metadata files with an adequately signed previous version. As a result, tough could trust content associated with a previous root role.
Impacted versions: < v0.20.0
Patches
A fix for this issue is available in tough version 0.20.0 and later. Customers are advised to upgrade to version 0.20.0 or later and ensure any forked or derivative code is patched to incorporate the new fixes.
Workarounds
There is no recommended work around. Customers are advised to upgrade to version 0.20.0 or the latest version.
References
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory we ask that you contact AWS/Amazon Security via our vulnerability reporting page [1] or directly via email to [email protected]. Please do not create a public GitHub issue.
[1] Vulnerability reporting page: https://aws.amazon.com/security/vulnerability-reporting
Acknowledgement
These issues were identified by the TUF-Conformance project. We would like to thank Google for collaborating on this issue through the coordinated vulnerability disclosure process.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦀crates.io | tough | all versions | 0.20.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for tough. 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 tough to 0.20.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5vmp-m5v2-hx47 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-5vmp-m5v2-hx47 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-5vmp-m5v2-hx47. 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-5vmp-m5v2-hx47 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-5vmp-m5v2-hx47 across crates.io dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.