GHSA-rpx7-33j2-xx9x is a low-severity (CVSS 2) Path Traversal vulnerability in nemo-toolkit. A fix is available for nemo-toolkit — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Arbitrary file deletion in NeMo ASR webapp
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-rpx7-33j2-xx9x plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
nemo-toolkitReal-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
Description
NVIDIA NeMo contains a vulnerability in ASR WebApp, where Relative Path Traversal (CWE-23) may lead to deletion of any directory through the "../" structure when admin privileges are available.
CVSS Score = 2.0 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln-metrics/cvss/v3-calculator?vector=AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Impact
When the optional tool ASR Webapp (https://github.com/NVIDIA/NeMo/tree/main/tools/asr_webapp) is used prior to commit https://github.com/NVIDIA/NeMo/commit/f7e4ed7e4f7f2fa43765a38c2fafa1b6d1ebd7c0, some interfaces do not verify user input. Malicious attackers can construct malicious requests to delete any directory through the "../" structure.
The vulnerability affects only cases where this particular web app is started by a user with superuser permissions. The web application is not a part of the regular pip release or the corresponding container, and impacts only users that clone the repository in its entirety and execute the web app (while also possessing superuser permissions).
Patches
This vulnerability has been patched via https://github.com/NVIDIA/NeMo/commit/f7e4ed7e4f7f2fa43765a38c2fafa1b6d1ebd7c0, which is effectively any clone of the repository post r1.5.1 branch. Since the web app is not distributed via pip release or container, users who clone the main branch post this commit will possess the patch.
Workarounds
The changes in commit https://github.com/NVIDIA/NeMo/commit/f7e4ed7e4f7f2fa43765a38c2fafa1b6d1ebd7c0 can be applied to any version of the web app without any adverse effect.
Additional Information
Exploit Found on: 2021.12.16 Exploit Found by: @haby0
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | nemo-toolkit | all versions | 1.6.0pip install --upgrade 'nemo-toolkit==1.6.0' |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for nemo-toolkit, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update nemo-toolkit to 1.6.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-rpx7-33j2-xx9x 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-rpx7-33j2-xx9x can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-rpx7-33j2-xx9x. 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-rpx7-33j2-xx9x in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-rpx7-33j2-xx9x across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.