nbconvert has an Arbitrary File Read via Path Traversal in HTMLExporter Image EmbeddingGHSA-7jqv-fw35-gmx9
MEDIUMGHSA-7jqv-fw35-gmx9 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in nbconvert. A fix is available for nbconvert — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-7jqv-fw35-gmx9.
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
nbconvertReal-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
The nbconvert tool, jupyter nbconvert, converts Jupyter notebooks to various other formats via Jinja templates. In versions 6.5 through 7.17.0, when HTMLExporter.embed_images=True, nbconvert's markdown renderer allows arbitrary file read via path traversal in image references. A malicious notebook can exfiltrate sensitive files from the conversion host by embedding them as base64 data URIs in the output HTML. nbconvert 7.17.1 contains a fix. As a workaround, do not enable HTMLExporter.embed_images; it is not enabled by default.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | nbconvert | ≥ 6.5.0&&< 7.17.1 | 7.17.1pip install --upgrade 'nbconvert==7.17.1' |
Affected Products
nbconvertjupyterDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for nbconvert, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update nbconvert to 7.17.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-7jqv-fw35-gmx9 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
This Moderate impact flaw in nbconvert allows for sensitive file exfiltration through path traversal in image references. The vulnerability is exploitable only when the `HTMLExporter.embed_images` setting is explicitly enabled. This setting is not enabled by default in the nbconvert.
To mitigate this vulnerability, ensure that the `HTMLExporter.embed_images` setting in nbconvert is not enabled. This setting is disabled by default, therefore no action is required unless it has been explicitly enabled in your environment. If this setting has been enabled, disabling it will prevent the path traversal vulnerability from being exploited.Source: Red Hat security advisory for GHSA-7jqv-fw35-gmx9 (CC BY 4.0)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-7jqv-fw35-gmx9 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.