CVE-2023-45805: Pdm PDM Trojan Lockfile Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-j44v-mmf2-xvm9
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-20
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-45805 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) pdm trojan lockfile vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation) affecting Pdm libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves pdm trojan lockfile. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2023-45805 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-45805
GHSA Identifier GHSA-j44v-mmf2-xvm9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
Affected Product Pdm
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-45805

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Pdm dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

pdm fixed: Latest secure release 
pip install pdm>=Latest secure release
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show pdm

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2023-45805, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show pdm

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Pdm in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show pdm command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation, where the product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly. In Pdm, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Summary It's possible to craft a malicious `pdm.lock` file that could allow e.g. an insider or a malicious open source project to appear to depend on a trusted PyPI project, but actually install another project. ### Details Project `foo` can be targeted by creating the project `foo-2` and uploading the file `foo-2-2.tar.gz` to pypi.org. PyPI will see this as project `foo-2` version `2`, while PDM will see this as project `foo` version `2-2`. The version must only be [parseable as a version](https://github.com/frostming/unearth/blob/eca170d9370ac5032f2e497ee9b1b63823d3fe0f/src/unearth/evaluator.py#L215-L229) (and the filename must be a prefix of the project name), but it's [not verified to match the version being installed](https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm/blob/45d1dfa47d4900c14a31b9bb761e4c46eb5c9442/src/pdm/models/candidates.py#L98-L99). (Version `2-2` is also not a valid [normalized version per PEP 440](https://peps.python.org/pep-0440/#post-release-spelling).) Matching the project name exactly (not just prefix) would fix the issue. The version should also be verified to avoid version downgrade attacks. ### PoC Example `pdm.lock` snippet to appear to depend on `foo` but actually install `foo-2` ``` "foo 2.2.0" = [ url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/.../foo-2-2.tar.gz ] ``` ### Impact When installing dependencies with PDM, what's actually installed could differ from what's listed in `pyproject.toml` (including arbitrary code execution on install). It could also be used for downgrade attacks by only changing the version.

CVE-2023-45805 Affected Pdm Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
pdm
pypi/pdm
PyPI
≤ 2.9.3

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm/security/advisories/GHSA-j44v-mmf2-xvm9
NVD — CVE-2023-45805 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-45805
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm/commit/6853e2642dfa281d4a9958fbc6c95b7e32d84831
Pdm Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/frostming/unearth/blob/eca170d9370ac5032f2e497ee9b1b63823d3fe0f/src/unearth/evaluator.py#L215-L229
Pdm Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm
Pdm Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm/blob/45d1dfa47d4900c14a31b9bb761e4c46eb5c9442/src/pdm/models/candidates.py#L98-L99
peps.python.org/pep-0440/ WEB
https://peps.python.org/pep-0440/#post-release-spelling

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-45805?
CVE-2023-45805 is a security vulnerability in Pdm involving PDM Trojan Lockfile under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation.
Which Pdm versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: pdm.
What version fixes CVE-2023-45805?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is pdm affected?
Yes, pdm is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-45805?
CVE-2023-45805 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-45805?
CVE-2023-45805 is classified under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation (The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2023-45805?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show pdm'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-j44v-mmf2-xvm9",
  "modified" : "2023-10-20T22:59:02Z",
  "published" : "2023-10-20T19:30:23Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-45805" ],
  "summary" : "PDM Trojan Lockfile",
  "details" : "### Summary\nIt's possible to craft a malicious `pdm.lock` file that could allow e.g. an insider or a malicious open source project to appear to depend on a trusted PyPI project, but actually install another project.\n\n### Details\nProject `foo` can be targeted by creating the project `foo-2` and uploading the file `foo-2-2.tar.gz` to pypi.org. PyPI will see this as project `foo-2` version `2`, while PDM will see this as project `foo` version `2-2`. The version must only be [parseable as a version](https://github.com/frostming/unearth/blob/eca170d9370ac5032f2e497ee9b1b63823d3fe0f/src/unearth/evaluator.py#L215-L229) (and the filename must be a prefix of the project name), but it's [not verified to match the version being installed](https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm/blob/45d1dfa47d4900c14a31b9bb761e4c46eb5c9442/src/pdm/models/candidates.py#L98-L99). (Version `2-2` is also not a valid [normalized version per PEP 440](https://peps.python.org/pep-0440/#post-release-spelling).)\n\nMatching the project name exactly (not just prefix) would fix the issue. The version should also be verified to avoid version downgrade attacks.\n\n### PoC\nExample `pdm.lock` snippet to appear to depend on `foo` but actually install `foo-2`\n```\n\"foo 2.2.0\" = [\n  url = \"https://files.pythonhosted.org/.../foo-2-2.tar.gz\n]\n```\n\n### Impact\nWhen installing dependencies with PDM, what's actually installed could differ from what's listed in `pyproject.toml` (including arbitrary code execution on install). It could also be used for downgrade attacks by only changing the version.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "pdm"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "2.9.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm/security/advisories/GHSA-j44v-mmf2-xvm9"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-45805"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm/commit/6853e2642dfa281d4a9958fbc6c95b7e32d84831"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/frostming/unearth/blob/eca170d9370ac5032f2e497ee9b1b63823d3fe0f/src/unearth/evaluator.py#L215-L229"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm/blob/45d1dfa47d4900c14a31b9bb761e4c46eb5c9442/src/pdm/models/candidates.py#L98-L99"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://peps.python.org/pep-0440/#post-release-spelling"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-20" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-10-20T19:30:23Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-10-20T19:15:08Z"
  }
}