GHSA-c4m7-2gwp-vw76
Fix: Q00/ouroboros#1078GHSA-c4m7-2gwp-vw76 is a CWE-426 vulnerability in ouroboros-ai. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-c4m7-2gwp-vw76 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
ouroboros-ai Vulnerable to Remote Code Execution via Untrusted Project-Directory .env
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- 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-c4m7-2gwp-vw76.
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.
Real-World Exposure
ouroboros-aiReal-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
A Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability was discovered in Ouroboros. If a user clones a malicious repository and runs Ouroboros commands within that directory, it can lead to arbitrary code execution and potential system takeover.
The vulnerability (CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path & CWE-15: External Control of System Setting) stems from Ouroboros loading the .env file from the current working directory. Prior to the patch, execution-affecting environment variables such as OUROBOROS_CLI_PATH, OPENCODE_CLI_PATH, and other backend selectors were accepted directly from this local .env. An attacker could include a malicious script in the repository and point the CLI path variable to it (e.g., OUROBOROS_CLI_PATH=./malicious_script.sh). When the user executes a command like ouroboros init or any command that instantiates the adapter, the malicious script is executed instead of the intended CLI.
Patches
The vulnerability has been patched in version 0.39.0 via PR #1078.
The fix establishes a strict trust boundary by applying a denylist to project-local .env loading. It blocks execution-affecting environment variables (such as runtime selectors and CLI path overrides) from being loaded from the project directory. Explicit constructor overrides and trusted user-owned home configurations (~/.ouroboros/.env) remain fully functional.
Users are strongly advised to upgrade to version 0.39.0 or later.
Workarounds
If upgrading is not immediately possible, users must carefully inspect any .env file inside cloned repositories before running Ouroboros commands to ensure it does not contain unexpected OUROBOROS_*_CLI_PATH or OPENCODE_CLI_PATH overrides.
References
- GitHub PR: https://github.com/Q00/ouroboros/pull/1078
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | ouroboros-ai | all versions | 0.39.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for ouroboros-ai. 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 ouroboros-ai to 0.39.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-c4m7-2gwp-vw76 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-c4m7-2gwp-vw76 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-c4m7-2gwp-vw76. 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-c4m7-2gwp-vw76 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-c4m7-2gwp-vw76 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.