GHSA-jx3q-5rgf-vrrr is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Code Injection vulnerability in xalpha. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for xalpha — see the affected versions and patch details below.
xalpha vulnerable to Remote Code Execution
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-jx3q-5rgf-vrrr.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-jx3q-5rgf-vrrr by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 379,842 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
xalphaReal-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
xalpha v0.11.4 is vulnerable to Remote Command Execution (RCE). User input is not properly checked to be numerical values prior to being evaluated.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | xalpha | ≥ 0.11.4&&< 0.11.9 | 0.11.9pip install --upgrade 'xalpha==0.11.9' |
Affected Products
xalphaxalpha_projectResearch 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 xalpha, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update xalpha to 0.11.9 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-jx3q-5rgf-vrrr is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-jx3q-5rgf-vrrr in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.