GHSA-pf38-5p22-x6h6 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Code Injection vulnerability in pyload-ng. 6 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for pyload-ng — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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-pf38-5p22-x6h6.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-pf38-5p22-x6h6 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 394,803 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
pyload-ngReal-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
Code Injection in GitHub repository pyload/pyload prior to 0.5.0b3.dev31.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | pyload-ng | all versions | 0.5.0b3.dev31pip install --upgrade 'pyload-ng==0.5.0b3.dev31' |
Affected Products
pyloadpyloadResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
PyLoad 0.5.0 - Pre-auth Remote Code Execution (RCE)
by Gabriel Lima · Jun 14, 2023
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pyload-ng, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update pyload-ng to 0.5.0b3.dev31 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-pf38-5p22-x6h6 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.
How to detect GHSA-pf38-5p22-x6h6
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id ghsa-pf38-5p22-x6h6 -u https://target- Template
- PyLoad 0.5.0 - Pre-auth Remote Code Execution (RCE)
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on the target system.
- Remediation
- Upgrade PyLoad to a version that is not affected by this vulnerability.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (MrHarshvardhan, DhiyaneshDk), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-pf38-5p22-x6h6 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.