GHSA-8cm5-jfj2-26q7
LOWFides Webserver Logs Hosted Database Password Partial Exposure Vulnerability
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.
Blast Radius
ethyca-fidesReal-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 Fides webserver requires a connection to a hosted PostgreSQL database for persistent storage of application data. If the password used by the webserver for this database connection includes special characters such as @ and $, webserver startup fails and the part of the password following the special character is exposed in webserver error logs.
This is caused by improper escaping of the SQLAlchemy password string, see here and here for more info.
Impact
Partial exposure of hosted database password in webserver logs
Patches
The vulnerability has been patched in Fides version 2.37.0. Users are advised to upgrade to this version or later to secure their systems against this threat.
Workarounds
There are no workarounds.
Proof of Concept
- Create a hosted PostgreSQL database for Fides with a password including
@or$e.g.p@ssword - Run Fides and observe failure, sample log attached
fides | 2024-02-28 14:27:52.609 | ERROR | fides.api.db.database:configure_db:117 - Unable to configure database: sqlalchemy.exc.OperationalError: (psycopg2.OperationalError) could not translate host name "ssword@fides-db" to address: Name or service not known
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | ethyca-fides | all versions | 2.37.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for ethyca-fides. 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 ethyca-fides to 2.37.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-8cm5-jfj2-26q7 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-8cm5-jfj2-26q7 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-8cm5-jfj2-26q7. 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-8cm5-jfj2-26q7 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-8cm5-jfj2-26q7 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.