Unrestricted Code Execution in aimhubio/aim

Vulnerability

Overview

CVE-2024-8238 affects aimhubio/aim version 3.22.0. The AimQL query language relies on an outdated version of the safer_getattr() function from RestrictedPython, which does not block the str.format_map() method [2]. This enables an attacker to read arbitrary attributes of Python objects, such as os.environ, leaking server-side secrets.

Exploitation

Details

To exploit the leak, an attacker only needs to send a crafted AimQL query using str.format_map() to access sensitive attributes. For full remote code execution, the attacker must also have the ability to write files to a known location on the Aim server [4]. With this access, they can use str.format_map() to load a malicious dynamic library (.dll on Windows or .so on Linux) into the Python interpreter, achieving unrestricted code execution.

Impact

The primary impact is information disclosure of sensitive environment variables. In scenarios where the attacker can write files to the server, the vulnerability escalates to arbitrary code execution, potentially compromising the entire system.

Mitigation

The vulnerability is present in Aim version 3.22.0. Users should upgrade to a patched version that uses a newer RestrictedPython version that properly blocks str.format_map() [1]. As of the publication date, no official patch has been announced, but the community is advised to monitor the project repository for updates.