The _load_model() function in the neural_magic_training.py script of the optimate project…

Summary

The _load_model() function in the neural_magic_training.py script of the optimate project in commit a6d302f912b481c94370811af6b11402f51d377f (2024-07-21) is vulnerable to insecure deserialization (CWE-502). When a user provides a single model file path (e.g., .pt or .pth) via the --model command-line argument, the function loads the file using torch.load() without enabling the weights_only=True security parameter. This allows the deserialization of arbitrary Python objects through the Pickle module. A remote attacker can exploit this by providing a maliciously crafted model file, leading to arbitrary code execution during deserialization on the victim's system.