Path Traversal in Hugging Face Accelerate

Executive Summary

Hugging Face Accelerate through version 1.14.0 has a path traversal flaw in functions load_checkpoint_in_model and load_checkpoint_and_dispatch. These functions do not properly sanitize weight_map entries from sharded checkpoint indexes, allowing attackers to use relative paths with ../ or absolute paths to read arbitrary files. Attackers can also target shard entries at named pipes to cause indefinite blocking and denial of service.

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Detection Guidance

Detecting this vulnerability requires checking for suspicious checkpoint files or paths in Hugging Face Accelerate. Look for files with ../ sequences or absolute paths in weight_map entries. Review logs for file read attempts or shard entries pointing to named pipes. No specific commands are provided in the context.

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Impact Analysis

An attacker could exploit this to read sensitive files on your system, including configuration files or other data. They could also cause your application to hang indefinitely by pointing shard entries at named pipes, leading to denial of service.

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Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, violating GDPR's data protection principles or HIPAA's requirements for safeguarding protected health information. Unauthorized file access may result in data breaches, triggering compliance violations and potential legal penalties.

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediately update Hugging Face Accelerate to a version beyond 1.14.0. Avoid loading untrusted checkpoint files. Validate all weight_map entries for path traversal attempts. Monitor for unusual file access patterns or system hangs.

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