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Database

Remote command execution In python-statemachine

Description

python-statemachine SCXML Eval Injection

Summary

python-statemachine 3.1.2 evaluates <data expr="..."> attributes in SCXML documents using Python's eval(). Any application that passes attacker-controlled SCXML content to SCXMLProcessor is vulnerable to arbitrary code execution in the context of the hosting process.

Details

SCXMLProcessor.parse_scxml_file() processes SCXML documents and evaluates <data> element expr attributes via the following call chain:

SCXMLProcessor.parse_scxml_file()
SCXMLProcessor.process_definition()
create_datamodel_action_callable()
_create_dataitem_callable()
_eval()
eval()

_eval() calls Python's built-in eval() directly on the expression string without sandboxing or restriction.

PoC

1. Install:
   pip install python-statemachine==3.1.2

2. Create an SCXML file containing:
   <data id="x" expr="__import__('pathlib').Path('marker.txt').write_text('pwned')"/>

3. Run:
   SCXMLProcessor.parse_scxml_file(DATA_EXPR_CHART)...

Impact

This is an eval injection vulnerability (CWE-95). Remote or local code execution depending on whether the consuming application accepts SCXML content from remote users, uploaded files, configuration, plugins, or other untrusted sources.

Mitigation

Update Impact

Minimal update. May introduce new vulnerabilities or breaking changes.

Ecosystem
Component
Affected version
Patched versions