Horizon Alert
Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters
A security issue in Orval, a tool for generating code from API specifications, allows for code execution if malicious input is included in schema defaults during the code generation process. This could impact development, testing, and application environments by allowing unauthorized code to run.
- Malicious code could execute during code generation.
- Matters if using Orval for API client code.
- Confirm Orval usage and code generation process.
Attack Path
How an attacker could exploit the issue
An attacker could inject specially crafted input into an OpenAPI or Swagger API specification. When the Orval tool processes this specification to generate type-safe JavaScript clients, it may include this input directly into generated code. If the generated code is then imported and executed in a development, build, or testing environment, the attacker's input could be evaluated, leading to code execution.
- Malicious API specification provided.
- Code generation and subsequent import.
- Code execution in developer environments.
Live Threat
Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context
When Orval, a tool for generating type-safe JavaScript clients, processes an OpenAPI or Swagger specification, a specially crafted default value in a schema could lead to code execution within the developer's environment, CI/CD pipeline, or application. This occurs because the default value is not safely encoded when used in a module-level template literal generated by Zod.
- Developer or CI/CD environment code.
- Malicious input in schema default values.
- Unintended code execution during development.
Operational Fix
Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps
This vulnerability in Orval affects the code generation process, specifically when handling default values in schema definitions. Responsibility likely lies with development teams or platform engineers who manage the API specification tooling and CI/CD pipelines. The first practical step is to identify all instances where Orval is used in code generation, confirm if the affected versions are present, and assess the risk based on where the generated code is deployed and if it handles untrusted input.
- Identify teams using Orval for code generation.
- Verify Orval usage and versions in CI/CD.
- Plan updates to the affected code generation.
