# CVE-2022-23531: GuardDog vulnerable to arbitrary file write when scanning a specially-crafted PyPI package

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-23531-guarddog-vulnerable-to-arbitrary-file-write-when-scanning-a  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2022-12-17  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2022-23531 · Severity: low · CVSS 3.1 · Published 2022-12-17

GuardDog is a CLI tool to identify malicious PyPI packages. Versions prior to 0.1.5 are vulnerable to Relative Path Traversal when scanning a specially-crafted local PyPI package. Running GuardDog against a specially-crafted package can allow an attacker to write an arbitrary file on the machine where GuardDog is executed due to a path traversal vulnerability when extracting the .tar.gz file of the package being scanned, which exists by design in the tarfile.TarFile.extractall function. This issue is patched in version 0.1.5.

Technologies: [guarddog (PyPI)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/guarddog). Vendors: [PyPI](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/pypi).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2022-23531 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2022-23531 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2022-23531?** Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.1, published 17 December 2022.

**Which products and versions are affected?** guarddog (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=0.1.5, GIT:introduced=0,fixed=a56aff58264cb6b7855d71b00dc10c39a5dbd306|ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=0.1.5.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2022-23531?** Yes. guarddog (PyPI): upgrade to 0.1.5 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**Am I affected by CVE-2022-23531?** Check whether you run guarddog (PyPI) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- guarddog (PyPI): upgrade to 0.1.5 or later

  ```sh
  pip install "guarddog>=0.1.5"
  ```


## Affected products

- guarddog (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=0.1.5, GIT:introduced=0,fixed=a56aff58264cb6b7855d71b00dc10c39a5dbd306|ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=0.1.5

## Identifiers

- CVE-2022-23531
- GHSA-rp2v-v467-q9vq
- PYSEC-2022-42994

## Related threats

- [PYSEC-2026-1430 - GuardDog Path Traversal Vulnerability Leads to Arbitrary File Overwrite and RCE](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-22871-guarddog-path-traversal-vulnerability-leads-to-arbitrary-file)
- [PYSEC-2026-1429 - GuardDog Zip Bomb Vulnerability in safe_extract() Allows DoS](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-22870-guarddog-zip-bomb-vulnerability-in-safe-extract-allows-dos)
- [DataDog GuardDog terminal escape injection in scan output](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-44972-datadog-guarddog-terminal-escape-injection-in-scan-output)
- [DataDog GuardDog SSRF and credential disclosure in remote project scanning](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-44971-datadog-guarddog-ssrf-and-credential-disclosure-in-remote-project)
- [GuardDog vulnerable to arbitrary file write when scanning a specially-crafted remote PyPI package](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-23530-guarddog-vulnerable-to-arbitrary-file-write-when-scanning-a)