CVE-2024-1892

Workarounds

For XMLFeedSpider, switch the node iterator to xml or html.

For open_in_browser, before using the function, either manually review the response content to discard a ReDos attack or manually define the base tag to avoid its automatic definition by open_in_browser later.

Acknowledgements

This security issue was reported by @nicecatch2000 through huntr.com.

The following parts of the Scrapy API were found to be vulnerable to a ReDoS attack:

• The XMLFeedSpider class or any subclass that uses the default node iterator: iternodes, as well as direct uses of the scrapy.utils.iterators.xmliter function.

• Scrapy 2.6.0 to 2.11.0: The open_in_browser function for a response without a base tag.

Handling a malicious response could cause extreme CPU and memory usage during the parsing of its content, due to the use of vulnerable regular expressions for that parsing.

A regular expression with worst-case exponential or polynomial matching time is applied to untrusted input, causing excessive CPU use. Typical impact: denial of service when input is crafted to trigger backtracking.

CVE-2024-1892 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.11.1, 1.8.4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Upgrade to Scrapy 2.11.1.

If you are using Scrapy 1.8 or a lower version, and upgrading to Scrapy 2.11.1 is not an option, you may upgrade to Scrapy 1.8.4 instead.

1. What is CVE-2024-1892? CVE-2024-1892 is a high-severity inefficient regular expression (ReDoS) vulnerability in scrapy (pip), affecting versions >= 2, < 2.11.1. It is fixed in 2.11.1, 1.8.4. A regular expression with worst-case exponential or polynomial matching time is applied to untrusted input, causing excessive CPU use.
2. How severe is CVE-2024-1892? CVE-2024-1892 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of scrapy are affected by CVE-2024-1892? scrapy (pip) versions >= 2, < 2.11.1 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2024-1892? Yes. CVE-2024-1892 is fixed in 2.11.1, 1.8.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2024-1892 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-1892 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2024-1892 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2024-1892?
   • Upgrade scrapy to 2.11.1 or later
   • Upgrade scrapy to 1.8.4 or later