High

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 the

  • Disclosed: 04.07.2026
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 13:19

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.

Affected software

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PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Python (PyPI) fickling < 0.1.11 0.1.11

References

CVSS score 8.8/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness (CWE)
-
Platform
Python (PyPI)
Package
fickling
Disclosed
04.07.2026
Updated
11.10.2026 13:19

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2026-2149 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: fickling

All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

All (16) in the archive
Total entries
16
First → latest
12.2025 07.2026
Without a fix
0
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 1
  • High 11
  • Medium 3
  • Low 1

Disclosures per year

  1. 2025: 2
  2. 2026: 14
Severity:
  1. 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 the this entry
    High · 8.8 CVE-2026-14534 < 0.1.11 0.1.11
  2. High ghsa-5hwf-rc88-82xm < 0.1.9 0.1.9
  3. High CVE-2026-22607 < 0.1.7 0.1.7

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