CVE-2023-47204 in transmute-core
Summary
by MITRE • 11/02/2023
Unsafe YAML deserialization in yaml.Loader in transmute-core before 1.13.5 allows attackers to execute arbitrary Python code.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/06/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-47204 represents a critical unsafe YAML deserialization flaw within the transmute-core library version 1.13.4 and earlier. This issue resides in the yaml.Loader component which processes untrusted YAML input without adequate sanitization mechanisms. The flaw enables attackers to craft malicious YAML payloads that, when processed by the vulnerable library, can trigger arbitrary Python code execution on the target system. The vulnerability stems from the library's failure to properly validate or restrict the types of objects that can be instantiated during the deserialization process, creating a pathway for remote code execution attacks.
This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-502 which defines unsafe deserialization as a weakness where untrusted data is deserialized without proper validation, allowing attackers to execute malicious code. The attack surface is particularly concerning as YAML deserialization vulnerabilities often allow for object injection attacks that can leverage Python's pickle protocol or other serialization mechanisms. The transmute-core library's yaml.Loader implementation appears to accept and process arbitrary Python objects during deserialization, bypassing normal security boundaries that would typically prevent execution of malicious code. Attackers can exploit this by crafting YAML documents containing specially formatted objects that, when loaded, execute arbitrary commands on the victim's system.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-47204 extends beyond simple code execution to encompass potential system compromise and data exfiltration capabilities. When exploited, the vulnerability allows attackers to gain full control over systems running vulnerable versions of transmute-core, enabling them to install backdoors, escalate privileges, or access sensitive data. The attack can be executed remotely without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous in environments where the library is used to process external inputs such as configuration files, API responses, or user-provided data. Organizations using this library in production environments face significant risk of unauthorized access and potential data breaches, especially in cloud deployments or containerized environments where such libraries might be used to process untrusted input streams.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-47204 center on immediate version upgrades to transmute-core 1.13.5 or later, which contain patches addressing the unsafe deserialization vulnerability. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation measures, including the use of safe YAML parsers such as yaml.safe_load() instead of the default loader, and avoid processing untrusted YAML content whenever possible. Security teams should conduct thorough inventory assessments to identify all systems and applications utilizing vulnerable versions of the library, implementing network segmentation and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing application firewalls, input sanitization layers, and runtime protections to prevent exploitation even if the primary patch is not immediately deployable. The remediation process should also include security awareness training for developers to prevent similar vulnerabilities in custom code implementations, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.006 for execution through scripting languages and T1203 for exploitation of remote services.