CVE-2026-14534CWE-184CWE-502

Fickling check_safety() bypass via unlisted standard library modules (_posixsubprocess, site, atexit)

High · published July 4, 2026

CVSS v3.1
8.8
EPSS
1%
Percentile
47.7
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

Trail of Bits fickling versions up to and including 0.1.10 do not include the Python standard library modules _posixsubprocess, site, and atexit in the UNSAFE_IMPORTS denylist (fickle.py). Because these modules are absent from the denylist, fickling's check_safety() function returns LIKELY_SAFE with zero findings for pickle payloads that invoke dangerous functions including _posixsubprocess.fork_exec (C-level process spawner capable of executing arbitrary binaries), site.execsitecustomize (executes arbitrary site customization code), and atexit._run_exitfuncs (triggers all registered exit handler callbacks). The fickling.load() API chains check_safety() into pickle.loads() as an explicit security gate; a LIKELY_SAFE verdict causes the payload to be deserialized and executed. This shares the same root cause as CVE-2026-22607 (cProfile), CVE-2025-67748 (pty), and CVE-2025-67747 (marshal/types). OvertlyBadEvals does not flag these modules because they are standard library imports. UnsafeImports does not flag them because they are not in the denylist. The UnusedVariables heuristic is defeated by the SETITEMS opcode pattern.

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v3.1
8.8 · HIGH
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.00594 · 47.7th percentile
Weaknesses
CWE-184 · Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs; CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Published
2026-07-04T13:25Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 04 JUL 13:25Z
    Fickling check_safety() bypass via unlisted standard library modules (_posixsubprocess, site, atexit)
    cvelistv5