GHSA-88cv-mj24-8w3q is a high-severity (CVSS 7) OS Command Injection vulnerability in arr-pm. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for arr-pm — see the affected versions and patch details below.
arr-pm vulnerable to arbitrary shell execution when extracting or listing files contained in a malicious rpm.
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-88cv-mj24-8w3q.
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-88cv-mj24-8w3q plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 376,715 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
arr-pmReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects RubyGems packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
Arbitrary shell execution is possible when using RPM::File#files and RPM::File#extract if the RPM contains a malicious "payload compressor" field.
This vulnerability impacts the extract and files methods of the RPM::File class in the affected versions of this library.
Patches
Version 0.0.12 is available with a fix for these issues.
Workarounds
When using an affected version of this library (arr-pm), ensure any RPMs being processed contain valid/known payload compressor values. Such values include: gzip, bzip2, xz, zstd, and lzma.
You can check the payload compressor field in an rpm by using the rpm command line tool. For example:
% rpm -qp example-1.0-1.x86_64.rpm --qf "%{PAYLOADCOMPRESSOR}\n"
gzip
Impact on known dependent projects
This library is used by fpm. The vulnerability may impact fpm only when using the flag -s rpm or --input-type rpm to convert a malicious rpm to another format. It does not impact creating rpms.
References
- https://github.com/jordansissel/ruby-arr-pm/pull/14
- https://github.com/jordansissel/ruby-arr-pm/pull/15
Credit
Thanks to @joernchen for reporting this problem and contributing to the resolution :)
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in the arr-pm issue tracker
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | arr-pm | all versions | 0.0.12bundle update arr-pm --conservative |
Research 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 arr-pm, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update arr-pm to 0.0.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-88cv-mj24-8w3q 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-88cv-mj24-8w3q can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-88cv-mj24-8w3q. 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-88cv-mj24-8w3q in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-88cv-mj24-8w3q across RubyGems dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.