CVE-2024-8616: H2o H2O Vulnerable To Arbitrary File Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-g48v-3p35-88jr
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CVSS 8.2
CWE-73
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-8616 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.2) h2o vulnerable to arbitrary file vulnerability (CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path) affecting H2o libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves h2o vulnerable to arbitrary file overwrite. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2024-8616 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-8616
GHSA Identifier GHSA-g48v-3p35-88jr
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.2
CWE Classification CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path
Affected Product H2o
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.2

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:N/I:L/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 None (C:N)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2024-8616

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected H2o dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

h2o fixed: Latest secure release 
pip install h2o>=Latest secure release
ai.h2o:h2o-core fixed: Latest secure release 
<dependency>
    <groupId>ai.h2o</groupId>
    <artifactId>h2o-core</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</version>
</dependency>
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 h2o

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2024-8616, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show h2o

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of H2o 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 h2o command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path, where the product allows user input to control or influence paths or file names that are used in filesystem operations. In H2o, 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

In h2oai/h2o-3 version 3.46.0, the `/99/Models/{name}/json` endpoint allows for arbitrary file overwrite on the target server. The vulnerability arises from the `exportModelDetails` function in `ModelsHandler.java`, where the user-controllable `mexport.dir` parameter is used to specify the file path for writing model details. This can lead to overwriting files at arbitrary locations on the host system.

CVE-2024-8616 Affected H2o Versions

2 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
h2o
pypi/h2o
PyPI
≥ 3.10.4.1
≤ 3.46.0
ai.h2o:h2o-core
maven/ai.h2o/h2o-core
Maven
≥ 3.10.4.1
≤ 3.46.0

References

NVD — CVE-2024-8616 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-8616
H2o Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/h2oai/h2o-3
H2o Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/h2oai/h2o-3/blob/088190f9d0370a02a483fca68d8dc89c996b4f83/h2o-core/src/main/java/water/api/ModelsHandler.java#L310
huntr.com/bounties/aebf69a5-b... WEB
https://huntr.com/bounties/aebf69a5-b9b1-4d2f-a8ff-902c11a8c97a

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-8616?
CVE-2024-8616 is a security vulnerability in H2o involving H2O Vulnerable to Arbitrary File Overwrite under CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path.
Which H2o versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: h2o, ai.h2o:h2o-core.
What version fixes CVE-2024-8616?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is h2o affected?
Yes, h2o is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
Is h2o-core affected?
Yes, ai.h2o:h2o-core 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-2024-8616?
CVE-2024-8616 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.2 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-8616?
CVE-2024-8616 is classified under CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path (The product allows user input to control or influence paths or file names that are used in filesystem operations.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2024-8616?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show h2o'. 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-g48v-3p35-88jr",
  "modified" : "2025-03-20T20:31:09Z",
  "published" : "2025-03-20T12:32:48Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-8616" ],
  "summary" : "H2O Vulnerable to Arbitrary File Overwrite",
  "details" : "In h2oai/h2o-3 version 3.46.0, the `/99/Models/{name}/json` endpoint allows for arbitrary file overwrite on the target server. The vulnerability arises from the `exportModelDetails` function in `ModelsHandler.java`, where the user-controllable `mexport.dir` parameter is used to specify the file path for writing model details. This can lead to overwriting files at arbitrary locations on the host system.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "h2o"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.10.4.1"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "3.46.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "ai.h2o:h2o-core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.10.4.1"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "3.46.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-8616"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/h2oai/h2o-3"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/h2oai/h2o-3/blob/088190f9d0370a02a483fca68d8dc89c996b4f83/h2o-core/src/main/java/water/api/ModelsHandler.java#L310"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://huntr.com/bounties/aebf69a5-b9b1-4d2f-a8ff-902c11a8c97a"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-73" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-03-20T20:31:09Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-03-20T10:15:43Z"
  }
}