GHSA-gpvv-69j7-gwj8 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in pip. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-gpvv-69j7-gwj8 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Path Traversal in pip
Real-World Exposure
pipReal-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 pip package before 19.2 for Python allows Directory Traversal when a URL is given in an install command, because a Content-Disposition header can have ../ in a filename, as demonstrated by overwriting the /root/.ssh/authorized_keys file. This occurs in _download_http_url in _internal/download.py. A fix was committed 6704f2ace.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | pip | all versions | 19.2 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pip. 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 pip to 19.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-gpvv-69j7-gwj8 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-gpvv-69j7-gwj8 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-gpvv-69j7-gwj8. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
This issue has been rated as having Moderate impact because of the preconditions needed to trigger the flaw: it only affects Python Wheels and requires the user to pip-install a wheel from a malicious server. Installing software from untrusted servers is insecure by definition and strongly discouraged, as it may lead…
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-gpvv-69j7-gwj8 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-gpvv-69j7-gwj8 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.