T08 · Insecure Dependencies
- Location
README.md:21- Finding
Unpinned Third-Party Dependencies Create a Supply-Chain Risk
- Content
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Vulnerability Details
File Location:
README.md, lines 21–23
Vulnerability Type: T08: Insecure Dependencies
Risk Level: MediumComplete Code Snippet:
bash # Install dependencies pip install yfinance requests pandasTechnical Analysis
The documented installation command retrieves the latest available versions of three third-party packages without version constraints, cryptographic hashes, a lockfile, or an explicitly trusted package index. Python package installation may execute package-controlled build or installation logic with the privileges of the user running
pip.The package names shown are conventional and no malicious package or unsafe package repository was identified. The vulnerability is that dependency resolution is mutable: future users may install releases different from those reviewed or tested by the project. A compromised package release, dependency account, or transitive dependency could therefore introduce arbitrary code during installation or runtime.
The project also provides no reproducible dependency manifest against which users can verify package integrity.
Attack Path
- An attacker compromises a named dependency, one of its transitive dependencies, or the corresponding package-publishing account.
- The attacker publishes a malicious release to the package index used by
pip. - A user follows the README and runs
pip install yfinance requests pandas. - Because no versions or hashes are constrained,
pipresolves and downloads the attacker-controlled release. - Malicious build, installation, import-time, or runtime code executes in the user's environment.
- The payload gains the same operating-system privileges and resource access as the user who installed or invoked the package.
Impact Assessment
Successful exploitation could execute arbitrary code with the invoking user's privileges. Depending on that user's permissions and environment, t ...[truncated 483 chars]
- Remediation
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Remediation Suggestions
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Create a reviewed dependency manifest with exact versions, including transitive dependencies.
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Generate and verify cryptographic hashes for every distribution.
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Install dependencies with hash enforcement, for example:
bash python3 -m venv .venv . .venv/bin/activate python3 -m pip install --require-hashes -r requirements.txt -
Use a lockfile-producing dependency-management tool and commit the resulting lockfile.
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Configure an explicit trusted package index or an internally controlled package mirror.
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Regularly scan dependencies for known vulnerabilities and review updates before changing pinned versions.
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Instruct users not to install dependencies with administrator or root privileges.
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Remove unnecessary dependencies from the setup documentation. The audited
scripts/bubble_scorer.pyuses only Python standard-library modules, so the documented third-party packages should not be required unless the missing data-retrieval implementation is added.
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