GHSA-q4xr-rc97-m4xx is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-77 vulnerability in celery. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-q4xr-rc97-m4xx is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
OS Command Injection in celery
Real-World Exposure
celeryReal-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
This affects the package celery before 5.2.2. It by default trusts the messages and metadata stored in backends (result stores). When reading task metadata from the backend, the data is deserialized. Given that an attacker can gain access to, or somehow manipulate the metadata within a celery backend, they could trigger a stored command injection vulnerability and potentially gain further access to the system.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | celery | all versions | 5.2.2 |
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 celery. 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 celery to 5.2.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-q4xr-rc97-m4xx 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-q4xr-rc97-m4xx 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-q4xr-rc97-m4xx. 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-q4xr-rc97-m4xx in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-q4xr-rc97-m4xx across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.