Depth counting error in guard() leading to multiple potential security issues in aioxmppGHSA-6m9g-jr8c-cqw3
HIGHFix: horazont/aioxmpp#268GHSA-6m9g-jr8c-cqw3 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.4) vulnerability in aioxmpp. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for aioxmpp — see the affected versions and patch details below.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
aioxmppReal-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
Impact
Possible remote Denial of Service or Data Injection.
Patches
Patches are available in https://github.com/horazont/aioxmpp/pull/268. They have been backported to the 0.10 release series and 0.10.3 is the first release to contain the fix.
Workarounds
To make the bug exploitable, an error suppressing xso_error_handler is required. By not using xso_error_handlers or not using the suppression function, the vulnerability can be mitigated completely (to our knowledge).
References
The pull request contains a detailed description: https://github.com/horazont/aioxmpp/pull/268
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Join our chat
- Email the maintainer Jonas Schäfer
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | aioxmpp | all versions | 0.10.3pip install --upgrade 'aioxmpp==0.10.3' |
Affected Products
aioxmppaioxmpp_projectResearch 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 aioxmpp, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update aioxmpp to 0.10.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-6m9g-jr8c-cqw3 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-6m9g-jr8c-cqw3 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.