GHSA-8ch4-58qp-g3mp is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.9) CWE-203 vulnerability in websockets. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-8ch4-58qp-g3mp is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Observable Timing Discrepancy in aaugustin websockets library
Real-World Exposure
websocketsReal-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 aaugustin websockets library before 9.1 for Python has an Observable Timing Discrepancy on servers when HTTP Basic Authentication is enabled with basic_auth_protocol_factory(credentials=...). An attacker may be able to guess a password via a timing attack.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | websockets | all versions | 9.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for websockets. 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 websockets to 9.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-8ch4-58qp-g3mp 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-8ch4-58qp-g3mp 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-8ch4-58qp-g3mp. 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-8ch4-58qp-g3mp in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-8ch4-58qp-g3mp across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.