Summary
Malware in ctx
The ctx hosted project on PyPI was taken over via user account compromise and replaced with a malicious project which contained runtime code that collected the content of os.environ.items() when instantiating Ctx objects. The captured environment variables were sent as a base64 encoded query parameter to a heroku application running at https://anti-theft-web.herokuapp.com.
If you installed the package between May 14, 2022 and May 24, 2022, and your environment variables contain sensitive data like passwords and API keys (like AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY), we advise you to rotate your passwords and keys, then perform an audit to determine if they were exploited.
Impact
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 GHSA-4G82-3JCR-Q52W? GHSA-4G82-3JCR-Q52W is a critical-severity security vulnerability in ctx (pip), affecting versions <= 0.1.4. No fixed version is listed yet.
- Which versions of ctx are affected by GHSA-4G82-3JCR-Q52W? ctx (pip) versions <= 0.1.4 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-4G82-3JCR-Q52W? No fixed version is listed for GHSA-4G82-3JCR-Q52W yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is GHSA-4G82-3JCR-Q52W exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-4G82-3JCR-Q52W 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 GHSA-4G82-3JCR-Q52W 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.