CredSweeper: Recursive archive size-limit bypass in deep scanner allows crafted compressed inputs to exhaust resources

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

5.5 · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS

No dated EPSS signal available.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary CredSweeper's deep scanner does not enforce recursivelimitsize as a hard limit. Several recursive scanners fully decompress or fully read attacker-controlled content before the remaining budget is validated, and AbstractScanner.recursivescan() continues processing even when the residual budget is already negative. This allows a crafted archive to bypass the intended recursive zip-bomb protection and force excessive memory / CPU consumption when deep scanning is enabled (--depth 0). I confirmed this on upstream commit 8b081acf04311eafe8fbd66ea41d02b0a7a4c6f6 / package version 1.15.8. The issue has two closely related exploitation paths that share the same root cause: 1. Single-stream decompressor bypass: gzip, bzip2, and lzma/xz inputs are fully decompressed first, then the remaining budget is computed, and the recursive scan proceeds even if the result is negative. 2. Multi-entry archive cumulative-budget bypass: zip and tar entries are checked only against the original…

Published by the source

10 Jul 2026, 19:25 UTC

Last modified by the source

10 Jul 2026, 19:31 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:46 UTC

1. Revision 2 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-9mqm-qcwf-5qhg

2. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GHSA-9mqm-qcwf-5qhg

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# Patch Next advisory brief: GHSA-9mqm-qcwf-5qhg

Advisory: CredSweeper: Recursive archive size-limit bypass in deep scanner allows crafted compressed inputs to exhaust resources
IDs: GHSA-9mqm-qcwf-5qhg
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/ghsa-9mqm-qcwf-5qhg (revision 2, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:46 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.5)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: credsweeper 1.16.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI credsweeper: affected >= 1.4.9, < 1.16.0; fixed in 1.16.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show credsweeper`: prints the installed version. Run with the environment that serves production active.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on credsweeper.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-9mqm-qcwf-5qhg (OSV record GHSA-9mqm-qcwf-5qhg lists affected ranges: PyPI credsweeper >=1.4.9 <1.16.0 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-9mqm-qcwf-5qhg (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-9mqm-qcwf-5qhg lists affected ranges: PyPI credsweeper >=1.4.9 <1.16.0)

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