GHSA-qw48-84f6-28gv
Graphite Has a Pickle Deserialization Vulnerability
Impact
Type of vulnerability: Insecure Deserialization via Python's pickle module.
Who is impacted:
Users of Graphite graph database engine versions before 0.2 who load database files from untrusted or third-party sources.
An attacker could craft a malicious database file that executes arbitrary code when loaded by the engine. This is possible because the engine used pickle for serialization, which is known to be unsafe for untrusted data.
Patches
The vulnerability has been patched starting from version 0.2.
All users should upgrade to version 0.2 or later (the current version is 0.4 at publishing time).
In version 0.2 and above, the engine uses JSON instead of pickle for database storage, eliminating the deserialization risk.
Workarounds
If users cannot upgrade immediately:
- Do not load database files from untrusted or unknown sources when using versions <0.2.
- Migrate existing pickle-based databases to the new JSON format using the provided migration module:
from graphite.Migration import convert_pickle_to_json
convert_pickle_to_json("path/to/old_database.pkl", "path/to/new_database.json")
After migration, you can safely use the database with version 0.2+.
Note: Versions 0.2 and later will show a warning when attempting to load legacy pickle files, reminding you to migrate them. Also, you can't load pickle files in 0.2 and later.
Resources
- Upgrade to v0.2 or newer
- Migration guide: See
graphite.Migrationmodule documentation - More on pickle security: Python docs – pickle security
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
What each source reports
GitHub Advisories Score used
Graphite Has a Pickle Deserialization Vulnerability
Impact
Type of vulnerability: Insecure Deserialization via Python's pickle module.
Who is impacted:
Users of Graphite graph database engine versions before 0.2 who load database files from untrusted or third-party sources.
An attacker could craft a malicious database file that executes arbitrary code when loaded by the engine. This is possible because the engine used pickle for serialization, which is known to be unsafe for untrusted data.
Patches
The vulnerability has been patched starting from version 0.2.
All users should upgrade to version 0.2 or later (the current version is 0.4 at publishing time).
In version 0.2 and above, the engine uses JSON instead of pickle for database storage, eliminating the deserialization risk.
Workarounds
If users cannot upgrade immediately:
- Do not load database files from untrusted or unknown sources when using versions <0.2.
- Migrate existing pickle-based databases to the new JSON format using the provided migration module:
from graphite.Migration import convert_pickle_to_json
convert_pickle_to_json("path/to/old_database.pkl", "path/to/new_database.json")
After migration, you can safely use the database with version 0.2+.
Note: Versions 0.2 and later will show a warning when attempting to load legacy pickle files, reminding you to migrate them. Also, you can't load pickle files in 0.2 and later.
Resources
- Upgrade to v0.2 or newer
- Migration guide: See
graphite.Migrationmodule documentation - More on pickle security: Python docs – pickle security
- Record
GHSA-qw48-84f6-28gv- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-502
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
Graphite Has a Pickle Deserialization Vulnerability
Impact
Type of vulnerability: Insecure Deserialization via Python's pickle module.
Who is impacted:
Users of Graphite graph database engine versions before 0.2 who load database files from untrusted or third-party sources.
An attacker could craft a malicious database file that executes arbitrary code when loaded by the engine. This is possible because the engine used pickle for serialization, which is known to be unsafe for untrusted data.
Patches
The vulnerability has been patched starting from version 0.2.
All users should upgrade to version 0.2 or later (the current version is 0.4 at publishing time).
In version 0.2 and above, the engine uses JSON instead of pickle for database storage, eliminating the deserialization risk.
Workarounds
If users cannot upgrade immediately:
- Do not load database files from untrusted or unknown sources when using versions <0.2.
- Migrate existing pickle-based databases to the new JSON format using the provided migration module:
from graphite.Migration import convert_pickle_to_json
convert_pickle_to_json("path/to/old_database.pkl", "path/to/new_database.json")
After migration, you can safely use the database with version 0.2+.
Note: Versions 0.2 and later will show a warning when attempting to load legacy pickle files, reminding you to migrate them. Also, you can't load pickle files in 0.2 and later.
Resources
- Upgrade to v0.2 or newer
- Migration guide: See
graphite.Migrationmodule documentation - More on pickle security: Python docs – pickle security
- Record
GHSA-qw48-84f6-28gv- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-502
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
graphitedbPyPI | before 0.2 | 0.2 |
graphitedbPyPI | before 0.2, plus listed versions 0.1.10.1.20.1.3 | 0.2 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | GitHub Advisories, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
GHSA-qw48-84f6-28gv is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in graphitedb, published May 18, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. Fixed in graphitedb 0.2.