CVE-2025-5173
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in HumanSignal label-studio-ml-backend allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code through unsafe deserialization in the PT file handler. The issue affects users running vulnerable versions of the ML backend component. Attackers must have local access to the system to exploit this flaw.
💻 Affected Systems
- HumanSignal label-studio-ml-backend
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Local privilege escalation leading to full system compromise and data exfiltration
Likely Case
Local user gains unauthorized code execution within the application context
If Mitigated
Attack contained to isolated environment with minimal impact
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires local access and knowledge of the vulnerable function. The vulnerability involves unsafe deserialization of PT files.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Versions after commit 9fb7f4aa186612806af2becfb621f6ed8d9fdbaf
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/HumanSignal/label-studio-ml-backend/issues/765
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update to the latest version of label-studio-ml-backend. 2. Verify the fix by checking that commit 9fb7f4aa186612806af2becfb621f6ed8d9fdbaf is not in your version history. 3. Restart the ML backend service.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict local access
allLimit local user access to systems running vulnerable versions
Disable vulnerable component
allDisable or restrict usage of the PT file handler if not required
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls to limit local user privileges
- Monitor for suspicious file operations involving PT files in the label-studio-ml-backend directory
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if your label-studio-ml-backend version includes commit 9fb7f4aa186612806af2becfb621f6ed8d9fdbaf or earlierCheck Version:
git log --oneline | head -20Verify Fix Applied:
Verify your version is newer than commit 9fb7f4aa186612806af2becfb621f6ed8d9fdbaf📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual file operations in label-studio-ml-backend directory
- Errors related to PT file deserialization
Network Indicators:
- Local connections to ML backend service from unexpected sources
SIEM Query:
Process execution from label-studio-ml-backend with unusual arguments or file paths