Summary
Whoogle Search Path Traversal vulnerability
Whoogle Search is a self-hosted metasearch engine. Versions 0.8.3 and prior have a limited file write vulnerability when the configuration options in Whoogle are enabled. The config function in app/routes.py does not validate the user-controlled name variable on line 447 and config_data variable on line 437. The name variable is insecurely concatenated in os.path.join, leading to path manipulation. The POST data from the config_data variable is saved with pickle.dump which leads to a limited file write. However, the data that is saved is earlier transformed into a dictionary and the url key value pair is added before the file is saved on the system. All in all, the issue allows us to save and overwrite files on the system that the application has permissions to, with a dictionary containing arbitrary data and the url key value, which is a limited file write. Version 0.8.4 contains a patch for this issue.
Impact
Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files. Typical impact: unauthorized file read or write outside the intended directory.
CVE-2024-22204 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). 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 (0.8.4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-22204? CVE-2024-22204 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in whoogle-search (pip), affecting versions >= 0, < 0.8.4. It is fixed in 0.8.4. Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files.
- How severe is CVE-2024-22204? CVE-2024-22204 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). 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.
- Which versions of whoogle-search are affected by CVE-2024-22204? whoogle-search (pip) versions >= 0, < 0.8.4 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-22204? Yes. CVE-2024-22204 is fixed in 0.8.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-22204 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-22204 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2024-22204 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2024-22204? Upgrade
whoogle-searchto 0.8.4 or later.