CVE-2024-5452: Lightning Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-cgwc-qvrx-rf7f
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-913 CWE-915
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-5452 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-913: Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources) affecting Lightning libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves remote code execution in pytorch lightning. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.3.3.

CVE-2024-5452 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-5452
GHSA Identifier GHSA-cgwc-qvrx-rf7f
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-913: Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources
Affected Product Lightning
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

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

How to Fix CVE-2024-5452

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

lightning fixed: 2.3.3 
pip install lightning>=2.3.3
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 lightning

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2024-5452, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show lightning

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Lightning in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.3.3), your application is affected.

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

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-913: Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources, where the product does not properly restrict reading from or writing to dynamically-managed code resources such as variables, objects, classes, attributes, functions, or executable instructions or statements. In Lightning, 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

A remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability exists in the lightning-ai/pytorch-lightning library version 2.2.1 due to improper handling of deserialized user input and mismanagement of dunder attributes by the `deepdiff` library. The library uses `deepdiff.Delta` objects to modify application state based on frontend actions. However, it is possible to bypass the intended restrictions on modifying dunder attributes, allowing an attacker to construct a serialized delta that passes the deserializer whitelist and contains dunder attributes. When processed, this can be exploited to access other modules, classes, and instances, leading to arbitrary attribute write and total RCE on any self-hosted pytorch-lightning application in its default configuration, as the delta endpoint is enabled by default.

CVE-2024-5452 Affected Lightning Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.3.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
lightning
pypi/lightning
PyPI
< 2.3.3
2.3.3

References

NVD — CVE-2024-5452 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-5452
Lightning Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/Lightning-AI/pytorch-lightning/issues/20038
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/lightning-ai/pytorch-lightning/commit/330af381de88cff17515418a341cbc1f9f127f9a
Lightning Release RELEASE
https://github.com/Lightning-AI/pytorch-lightning/releases/tag/2.3.3
Lightning Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/lightning-ai/pytorch-lightning
huntr.com/bounties/486add92-2... WEB
https://huntr.com/bounties/486add92-275e-4a7b-92f9-42d84bc759da

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-5452?
CVE-2024-5452 is a security vulnerability in Lightning involving Remote code execution in pytorch lightning under CWE-913: Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources.
Which Lightning versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.3.3 across affected packages: lightning.
What version fixes CVE-2024-5452?
Upgrading to 2.3.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is lightning affected?
Yes, lightning is affected in releases prior to 2.3.3. Upgrade your dependency to 2.3.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-5452?
CVE-2024-5452 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-5452?
CVE-2024-5452 is classified under CWE-913: Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources (The product does not properly restrict reading from or writing to dynamically-managed code resources such as variables, objects, classes, attributes, functions, or executable instructions or statements.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2024-5452?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show lightning'. 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 
{
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  "id" : "GHSA-cgwc-qvrx-rf7f",
  "modified" : "2024-10-16T18:32:25Z",
  "published" : "2024-06-06T18:30:58Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-5452" ],
  "summary" : "Remote code execution in pytorch lightning",
  "details" : "A remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability exists in the lightning-ai/pytorch-lightning library version 2.2.1 due to improper handling of deserialized user input and mismanagement of dunder attributes by the `deepdiff` library. The library uses `deepdiff.Delta` objects to modify application state based on frontend actions. However, it is possible to bypass the intended restrictions on modifying dunder attributes, allowing an attacker to construct a serialized delta that passes the deserializer whitelist and contains dunder attributes. When processed, this can be exploited to access other modules, classes, and instances, leading to arbitrary attribute write and total RCE on any self-hosted pytorch-lightning application in its default configuration, as the delta endpoint is enabled by default.",
  "severity" : [ {
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    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
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  "references" : [ {
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  "database_specific" : {
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    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
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    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-06-06T22:10:56Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-06-06T18:15:20Z"
  }
}