CVE-2024-45858

Arbitrary code execution via malicious XML file in Guardrails framework.

• CVSS 7.8
• CWE-95
• Input Validation and Sanitization
• Remote

An arbitrary code execution vulnerability exists in versions 0.2.9 up to 0.5.10 of the Guardrails AI Guardrails framework because of the way it validates XML files. If a victim user loads a maliciously crafted XML file containing Python code, the code will be passed to an eval function, causing it to execute on the user's machine.

CVE

CVE-2024-45858

CWE

CWE-95

CVSS base score

7.8

Published

2024-09-18

OWASP

A01 Broken Access Control

Orthogonal defect classification

Checking

Code defect classification

Incorrect Check

Category

Input Validation and Sanitization

Subcategory

Insecure Parsing or Deserialization

Accessibility scope

Remote

Impact

Arbitrary Code Execution

Affected component

Guardrails A

Fixed by upgrading

Yes

Solution

Upgrade to version 0.5.11 or later.

import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

def load_xml_and_execute(xml_string):
    root = ET.fromstring(xml_string)
    
    code_to_execute = root.find('code').text
    eval(code_to_execute)

xml = """<root>
    <code>print('This is an arbitrary code execution!')</code>
</root>"""

load_xml_and_execute(xml)

import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

def execute_action(action):
    actions = {
        "greet": lambda: print("Hello, safe world!"),
        "farewell": lambda: print("Goodbye, safe world!")
    }
    
    if action in actions:
        actions[action]()
    else:
        print("Invalid action.")

def load_xml_and_execute(xml_string):
    root = ET.fromstring(xml_string)
    code_to_execute = root.find('action').text
    execute_action(code_to_execute)

xml = """<root>
    <code>print('This is an arbitrary code execution!')</code>
</root>"""

load_xml_and_execute(xml)

<root>
    <code>os.system('whoami')</code>
</root>

@misc{vaitp:cve202445858,
  title        = {{Arbitrary code execution via malicious XML file in Guardrails framework.}},
  author       = {Bogaerts, Fr\'ed\'eric and Ivaki, Naghmeh and Fonseca, Jos\'e},
  year         = {2024},
  note         = {VAITP Python Vulnerability Dataset, entry CVE-2024-45858},
  howpublished = {\url{https://netpack.pt/vaitp/vulnerability/CVE-2024-45858/}}
}