CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2024-5452 — Lightningai Pytorch Lightning security vulnerability

Critical CVSS 9.8

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
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.1)
Published
2024-06-06
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-915, CWE-913

Affected products

  • lightningai / pytorch_lightning

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

The detailed catalog view below loads this exact record, its source evidence, and the full seven-phase agentic change plan.