CVE-2024-9363: Polyaxon Platform DoS Vulnerability

CVE-2024-9363 Overview

CVE-2024-9363 is an unauthorized file deletion vulnerability affecting the latest version of the Polyaxon platform, an open-source system for machine learning workflows. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to delete critical files inside Polyaxon containers, including polyaxon.sock. Deleting the socket file causes the API container to exit unexpectedly, disrupting related services and preventing the system from functioning normally. Exploitation requires no authentication and no knowledge of internal UUID parameters. The vulnerability is classified under [CWE-23] (Relative Path Traversal).

Critical Impact
Remote unauthenticated attackers can terminate Polyaxon API containers by deleting internal files, causing denial of service against machine learning workflows.

Affected Products

Polyaxon platform (latest version as reported)
Polyaxon API container components relying on polyaxon.sock
Dependent Polyaxon services affected by API termination

Discovery Timeline

2025-03-20 - CVE-2024-9363 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-9363

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in a Polyaxon file-handling endpoint that fails to enforce authentication and does not validate file paths against a safe base directory. An attacker can craft a request that references container-internal files such as polyaxon.sock and trigger their deletion. Because polyaxon.sock is the Unix domain socket used by the API container for inter-process communication, its removal terminates the API process. Downstream services that depend on the API stop functioning, resulting in denial of service across the ML platform.

The attack requires no user interaction and no valid session token, making it trivially reachable when the Polyaxon interface is exposed to a network.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, tracked as [CWE-23]. The file deletion routine trusts caller-supplied path input and does not reject traversal sequences or absolute paths. Additionally, the endpoint lacks authentication checks and does not require a valid resource UUID before performing destructive filesystem operations.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based. An unauthenticated attacker sends a crafted HTTP request to the vulnerable Polyaxon endpoint referencing a container-internal path. The server processes the request and deletes the target file. When the target is polyaxon.sock, the API container exits, producing an immediate service outage.

No verified public exploit code has been released. Technical details are documented in the Huntr Bounty Listing.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-9363

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected termination or restart loops of the Polyaxon API container without a corresponding administrative action
Missing polyaxon.sock file inside the API container filesystem
HTTP requests to Polyaxon file-management endpoints containing traversal sequences such as ../ or absolute paths referencing runtime sockets
Access log entries from unauthenticated clients performing DELETE operations or file-removal actions

Detection Strategies

Inspect Polyaxon reverse proxy and application logs for anonymous requests targeting file endpoints with suspicious path parameters
Monitor container orchestration events (Kubernetes, Docker) for repeated crashes or restarts of the Polyaxon API pod
Alert on filesystem events that delete polyaxon.sock or other runtime IPC files during normal operations

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable audit logging on the Polyaxon ingress and forward access logs to a centralized analytics platform
Instrument container runtime file integrity monitoring for critical socket and configuration files
Track API container liveness probe failures and correlate them with inbound request patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-9363

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network exposure of the Polyaxon platform by placing it behind an authenticated reverse proxy or VPN
Apply strict network policies so that only trusted users and services can reach Polyaxon HTTP endpoints
Audit Polyaxon deployments for recent unexpected API container crashes indicating possible exploitation

Patch Information

No vendor patch reference is included in the enriched CVE data. Administrators should consult the Huntr Bounty Listing and the Polyaxon project repository for the latest fix status and upgrade guidance.

Workarounds

Deploy Polyaxon within an isolated network segment that blocks direct internet access
Enforce authentication at an upstream proxy so unauthenticated requests never reach the vulnerable endpoint
Run the Polyaxon API container with a read-only filesystem where feasible, mounting only required paths as writable
Configure container orchestration to alert on abnormal restart counts of Polyaxon services

bash

# Example NetworkPolicy limiting ingress to the Polyaxon API pod
# Apply only after validating against your cluster configuration
kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: polyaxon-api-restrict
  namespace: polyaxon
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: polyaxon-api
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  ingress:
  - from:
    - namespaceSelector:
        matchLabels:
          name: trusted-ingress
EOF