CVE-2020-15801CWE-426

CVE-2020-15801

Critical · published July 17, 2020

CVSS v3.1
9.8
EPSS
4%
Percentile
89.5
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

⚠️ An oversight in Python 3.8.4 means path restrictions can be ignored—like a librarian allowing books from the basement to be borrowed without question! 📚 This vulnerability is akin to a library with a faulty catalog; instead of restricting access to certain sections, it unwittingly lets anyone grab books from anywhere, potentially including the rarest tomes. If a malicious actor finds a way to exploit it, they could run arbitrary code from untrusted locations. In this scenario, an attacker could load and execute code from any location, leading to a potential compromise of the system. While it's not currently known to be exploited, the risk of unauthorized code execution is still concerning and could have dire consequences if left unaddressed.

Put simply

This vulnerability is akin to a library with a faulty catalog; instead of restricting access to certain sections, it unwittingly lets anyone grab books from anywhere, potentially including the rarest tomes. If a malicious actor finds a way to exploit it, they could run arbitrary code from untrusted locations. The vulnerability stems from the sys.path restrictions in the python38._pth file being ignored, allowing code to be loaded from arbitrary locations that could be harmful.

What to do

In this scenario, an attacker could load and execute code from any location, leading to a potential compromise of the system. While it's not currently known to be exploited, the risk of unauthorized code execution is still concerning and could have dire consequences if left unaddressed. To mitigate this, consider upgrading to a later version of Python where this issue is resolved or review your Python configurations to ensure no arbitrary code can be executed from untrusted files. It's also wise to audit your environment and restrict directory access where possible. You’ve got this! Fixing this is straightforward and will keep your Python environment secure. 🛡️

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v3.1
9.8 · CRITICAL
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.03631 · 89.5th percentile
Weakness
CWE-426 · Untrusted Search Path
Published
2020-07-17T07:15Z
Affected products (3)
ProductVersionsFixed in
python/python≥ 3.7.0, < 3.7.93.7.9
python/python≥ 3.8.0, < 3.8.53.8.5
netapp/max_dataall versions—
References (7)
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 17 JUL 02:15Z
    In Python 3.8.4, sys.path restrictions specified in a python38._pth file are ignored, allowing code to be loaded from arbitrary locations
    cvelistv5