GHSA-hrcw-xc63-g29m
MEDIUMGHSA-hrcw-xc63-g29m is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.6) vulnerability in pptagent. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-hrcw-xc63-g29m is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
PPTAgent: Arbitrary File Write + Directory Creation via markdown_table_to_image
Blast Radius
pptagentReal-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
The markdown_table_to_image tool accepts a caller-controlled path parameter and passes it directly to get_html_table_image:
# pptagent/mcp_server.py:127-143
def markdown_table_to_image(markdown_table: str, path: str, css: str) -> str:
"""
Args:
path (str): The file path where the image will be saved
"""
html = markdown_to_html(markdown_table)
get_html_table_image(html, path, css) # ← no path validation
return f"Markdown table converted to image and saved to {path}"
# pptagent/utils.py:337-366
def get_html_table_image(html: str, output_path: str, css: str = None):
parent_dir, base_name = os.path.split(output_path)
if parent_dir and not os.path.exists(parent_dir):
os.makedirs(parent_dir) # ← creates arbitrary directories
hti = Html2Image(...)
hti.screenshot(
html_str=html,
css_str=css,
save_as=base_name, # ← writes image to any directory
size=(1000, 600),
)
os.makedirs(parent_dir) creates arbitrary directory trees, and Html2Image.screenshot writes the rendered image to parent_dir/base_name. Unlike download_file in the same project, there is no is_relative_to(workspace) guard. This behaviour can be fixed with the same pattern as the above.
Impact
The concrete attack scenarios include
- SSH key replacement:
path = "/home/user/.ssh/authorized_keys"— replaces the authorized_keys file with an image binary (breaks - SSH but could be an image crafted with a specific PNG/JPEG payload). - Web shell:
path = "/var/www/html/uploads/shell.php"— writes the rendered PNG there; the file has the .php extension but PNG content; combined with Apache Options +MultiViews or file-include vulnerabilities could be dangerous. - Directory creation oracle:
path = "/root/test/probe.png"— if the directory is created, confirms the target path exists; if it errors, reveals permissions information.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | pptagent | all versions | 1.1.36 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pptagent. 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 pptagent to 1.1.36 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-hrcw-xc63-g29m 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-hrcw-xc63-g29m 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-hrcw-xc63-g29m. 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-hrcw-xc63-g29m in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-hrcw-xc63-g29m across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.