GHSA-q37h-jhf3-85cj
Bypass of CMS Safe Mode Security Feature
Blast Radius
wintercms/winter🐘wintercms/winterReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
Authenticated users with permissions to create or modify theme template objects through the backend "CMS" editor can exploit this vulnerability to bypass the cms.enableSafeMode security feature if enabled (disables modification of PHP code through the web interface when enabled).
This is only an issue for Winter CMS instances that rely on the Safe Mode security feature to prevent privileged users from modifying the PHP code of CMS theme template objects through the web interface.
CVSS v3.1 Vector: AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
Patches
Issue has been fixed in v1.0.475, v1.1.9, & v1.2.
Workarounds
Apply https://github.com/wintercms/storm/commit/03eb5ce3f2a271670574802b914f7bcaf07663c1 manually if unable to upgrade to v1.0.475, v1.1.9, or v1.2.0.
References
See https://github.com/octobercms/october/security/advisories/GHSA-79jw-2f46-wv22/.
Credit to David Miller for reporting the issue.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Email us at [email protected]
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | wintercms/winter | all versions | 1.0.475 |
| 🐘Packagist | wintercms/winter | ≥ 1.1.0&&< 1.1.9 | 1.1.9 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for wintercms/winter. 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 wintercms/winter to 1.0.475 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-q37h-jhf3-85cj 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-q37h-jhf3-85cj 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-q37h-jhf3-85cj. 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-q37h-jhf3-85cj in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-q37h-jhf3-85cj across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.