GHSA-g8c6-8fjj-2r4m is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.4) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in python-socketio. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-g8c6-8fjj-2r4m is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
python-socketio vulnerable to arbitrary Python code execution (RCE) through malicious pickle deserialization in certain multi-server deployments
Real-World Exposure
python-socketioReal-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
A remote code execution vulnerability in python-socketio versions prior to 5.14.0 allows attackers to execute arbitrary Python code through malicious pickle deserialization in multi-server deployments on which the attacker previously gained access to the message queue that the servers use for internal communications.
Details
When Socket.IO servers are configured to use a message queue backend such as Redis for inter-server communication, messages sent between the servers are encoded using the pickle Python module. When a server receives one of these messages through the message queue, it assumes it is trusted and immediately deserializes it.
The vulnerability stems from deserialization of messages using Python's pickle.loads() function. Having previously obtained access to the message queue, the attacker can send a python-socketio server a crafted pickle payload that executes arbitrary code during deserialization via Python's __reduce__ method.
Impact
This vulnerability only affects deployments with a compromised message queue. The attack can lead to the attacker executing random code in the context of, and with the privileges of a Socket.IO server process.
Single-server systems that do not use a message queue, and multi-server systems with a secure message queue are not vulnerable.
Remediation
In addition to making sure standard security practices are followed in the deployment of the message queue, users of the python-socketio package can upgrade to version 5.14.0 or newer, which remove the pickle module and use the much safer JSON encoding for inter-server messaging.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | python-socketio | ≥ 0.8.0&&< 5.14.0 | 5.14.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for python-socketio. 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 python-socketio to 5.14.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-g8c6-8fjj-2r4m 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-g8c6-8fjj-2r4m 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-g8c6-8fjj-2r4m. 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-g8c6-8fjj-2r4m in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-g8c6-8fjj-2r4m across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.