Exploring the Jupyter Ecosystem: An Empirical Study of Bugs and Vulnerabilities

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Main Authors: Jiang, Wenyuan, Pressato, Diany, Darji, Harsh, Lutellier, Thibaud
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Jiang, Wenyuan
Pressato, Diany
Darji, Harsh
Lutellier, Thibaud
author_facet Jiang, Wenyuan
Pressato, Diany
Darji, Harsh
Lutellier, Thibaud
contents Background. Jupyter notebooks are one of the main tools used by data scientists. Notebooks include features (configuration scripts, markdown, images, etc.) that make them challenging to analyze compared to traditional software. As a result, existing software engineering models, tools, and studies do not capture the uniqueness of Notebook's behavior. Aims. This paper aims to provide a large-scale empirical study of bugs and vulnerabilities in the Notebook ecosystem. Method. We collected and analyzed a large dataset of Notebooks from two major platforms. Our methodology involved quantitative analyses of notebook characteristics (such as complexity metrics, contributor activity, and documentation) to identify factors correlated with bugs. Additionally, we conducted a qualitative study using grounded theory to categorize notebook bugs, resulting in a comprehensive bug taxonomy. Finally, we analyzed security-related commits and vulnerability reports to assess risks associated with Notebook deployment frameworks. Results. Our findings highlight that configuration issues are among the most common bugs in notebook documents, followed by incorrect API usage. Finally, we explore common vulnerabilities associated with popular deployment frameworks to better understand risks associated with Notebook development. Conclusions. This work highlights that notebooks are less well-supported than traditional software, resulting in more complex code, misconfiguration, and poor maintenance.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_18833
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Exploring the Jupyter Ecosystem: An Empirical Study of Bugs and Vulnerabilities
Jiang, Wenyuan
Pressato, Diany
Darji, Harsh
Lutellier, Thibaud
Software Engineering
Background. Jupyter notebooks are one of the main tools used by data scientists. Notebooks include features (configuration scripts, markdown, images, etc.) that make them challenging to analyze compared to traditional software. As a result, existing software engineering models, tools, and studies do not capture the uniqueness of Notebook's behavior. Aims. This paper aims to provide a large-scale empirical study of bugs and vulnerabilities in the Notebook ecosystem. Method. We collected and analyzed a large dataset of Notebooks from two major platforms. Our methodology involved quantitative analyses of notebook characteristics (such as complexity metrics, contributor activity, and documentation) to identify factors correlated with bugs. Additionally, we conducted a qualitative study using grounded theory to categorize notebook bugs, resulting in a comprehensive bug taxonomy. Finally, we analyzed security-related commits and vulnerability reports to assess risks associated with Notebook deployment frameworks. Results. Our findings highlight that configuration issues are among the most common bugs in notebook documents, followed by incorrect API usage. Finally, we explore common vulnerabilities associated with popular deployment frameworks to better understand risks associated with Notebook development. Conclusions. This work highlights that notebooks are less well-supported than traditional software, resulting in more complex code, misconfiguration, and poor maintenance.
title Exploring the Jupyter Ecosystem: An Empirical Study of Bugs and Vulnerabilities
topic Software Engineering
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.18833