CVE-2026-33992: pyLoad: Server-Side Request Forgery via Download Link Submission Enables Cloud Metadata Exfiltration

Should you act?

Critical, preconditions apply

Severe if exploited, but exploitation needs conditions that may not apply to you. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• Not in CISA KEV, but CISA’s SSVC assessment records a public proof-of-concept, so attack code exists.
• EPSS 0.4%, percentile 38: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.4% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 38% of all scored CVEs (low). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Needs an account (low (any account)). Exposure depends on who can log in.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes pyload-ng (PyPI) <= 0.5.0b3.dev96, no fixed version listed. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

pyLoad is a free and open-source download manager written in Python. Prior to version 0.5.0b3.dev97, PyLoad's download engine accepts arbitrary URLs without validation, enabling Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks. An authenticated attacker can exploit this to access internal network services and exfiltrate cloud provider metadata. On DigitalOcean droplets, this exposes sensitive infrastructure data including droplet ID, network configuration, region, authentication keys, and SSH keys configured in user-data/cloud-init. Version 0.5.0b3.dev97 contains a patch.

From the GitHub advisory

Summary

PyLoad's download engine accepts arbitrary URLs without validation, enabling Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks. An authenticated attacker can exploit this to access internal network services and exfiltrate cloud provider metadata. On DigitalOcean droplets, this exposes sensitive infrastructure data including droplet ID, network configuration, region, authentication keys, and SSH keys configured in user-data/cloud-init.

Details

The vulnerability exists in PyLoad's download package functionality (/api/addPackage endpoint), which directly passes user-supplied URLs to the download engine without validating the destination. The affected code in src/pyload/webui/app/blueprints/apiblueprint.py:

The download engine in src/pyload/core/managers/download.py accepts any URL scheme and initiates HTTP requests to arbitrary destinations, including internal network addresses and cloud metadata endpoints.

Weakness type: CWE-918.

Product: pyload-ng (PyPI) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-03-27

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Attack requirements: none
• Privileges required: low (any account)
• User interaction: none

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation poc, automatable yes, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.45% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 38.

Timeline

• 2026-03-27 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
• 2026-03-27 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-m74m-f7cr-432x published (critical)
• 2026-03-30 — CVE record last updated

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-m74m-f7cr-432x github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2026-33992 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2026-33992 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com

Critical PyPI advisories · Today’s Security Digest