CVE-2024-8020VulnerabilityPublished 20 Mar 2025Updated 15 Oct 2025

CVE-2024-8020: lightning-ai/pytorch-lightning · Uncaught Exception

Affects lightning-ai/pytorch-lightningSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 07:57 UTC

CVSS 3.0 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 50% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 20 Mar 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
PyPIpytorch-lightning`pkg:pypi/pytorch-lightning`Other threats	Affected =2.3.2	Fixed in–

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AI-suggested

1. Monitor lightning-ai/pytorch-lightning official channels for patches addressing CVE-2024-8020 and apply them promptly once available. 2. Implement network-level filtering to restrict access to the /api/v1/state endpoint, allowing only trusted IP addresses or internal network segments to communicate with LightningApp. 3. Deploy Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) or API gateways with rules to detect and block malformed or unexpected POST requests targeting the vulnerable endpoint. 4. Enhance input validation within the application layer to ensure that only expected state values are processed, preventing uncaught exceptions. 5. Conduct regular security testing, including fuzzing and exception handling verification, to identify similar vulnerabilities proactively. 6. Isolate AI/ML infrastructure in segmented network zones to limit exposure to external threats. 7. Establish monitoring and alerting for abnormal server shutdowns or crashes related to LightningApp services. 8. Educate development and operations teams on secure coding practices, emphasizing exception handling and input sanitization in AI frameworks. 9. Consider temporary disabling or restricting access to the vulnerable API endpoint if patching is delayed and risk is high. 10. Maintain incident response plans tailored to AI infrastructure to quickly address potential denial of service events.

Description

A vulnerability in lightning-ai/pytorch-lightning version 2.3.2 allows an attacker to cause a denial of service by sending an unexpected POST request to the `/api/v1/state` endpoint of `LightningApp`. This issue occurs due to improper handling of unexpected state values, which results in the server shutting down.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-8020 is the potential for denial of service attacks against AI/ML infrastructure using lightning-ai/pytorch-lightning. This could disrupt critical AI workloads, delay research and development projects, and impact services relying on machine learning models. Industries such as finance, healthcare, automotive, and telecommunications, which increasingly depend on AI frameworks, may face operational interruptions. Cloud service providers hosting AI workloads could experience degraded service quality or outages, affecting multiple clients. The unavailability of AI applications could also hinder innovation and competitiveness in the European AI sector. Additionally, organizations may incur costs related to incident response, system recovery, and reputational damage. The vulnerability's ease of exploitation and lack of authentication requirements increase the risk of opportunistic attacks, especially in environments with exposed LightningApp endpoints. Given Europe's strong emphasis on data protection and service continuity, such disruptions could also have regulatory and compliance implications.

References

huntr.com/bounties/8b642a78-2b80-4fb0-9b2f-8ba0ff37db6a (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 15 Oct 2025, 13:22 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-248

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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