codechecker authentication method confusion vulnerability allows logging in as the built-in root user from an external serviceGHSA-fpm5-2wcj-vfr7
HIGHFix: Ericsson/codechecker@866f379GHSA-fpm5-2wcj-vfr7 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.7) CWE-305 vulnerability in codechecker. A fix is available for codechecker — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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-fpm5-2wcj-vfr7.
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
codecheckerReal-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
Summary
Authentication method confusion allows logging in as the built-in root user from an external service. The built-in root user is generated in a weak manner, cannot be disabled, and has universal access.
Details
Until CodeChecker version 6.24.1 there was an auto-generated super-user account that could not be disabled. The attacker needs to know only the username of the root user.
This root user is unconditionally assigned superuser permissions.
Which means that if any user via any service logs in with the root user's username, they will unconditionally have superuser permissions on the CodeChecker instance.
The name of the user name can be found in root.user file in the CodeChecker configuration directory.
You can check if you are impacted by checking the existence of this user in the external authentication services (e.g. LDAP, PAM etc.).
Impact
This vulnerability allows an attacker who can create an account on an enabled external authentication service, to log in as the root user, and access and control everything that can be controlled via the web interface. The attacker needs to acquire the username of the root user to be successful.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | codechecker | all versions | 6.24.2pip install --upgrade 'codechecker==6.24.2' |
Affected Products
codecheckerericssonDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for codechecker, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update codechecker to 6.24.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-fpm5-2wcj-vfr7 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-fpm5-2wcj-vfr7 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.