Fickling check_safety() bypass via standard library callables
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution, Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-502 and CWE-693.
Summary
Trail of Bits fickling through 0.1.12 trusts any callable from a standard library module without checking its behavior, so the OvertlyBadEvals pass skips it. A crafted pickle payload can then pass check_safety() as LIKELY_SAFE with zero findings (CWE-502). A remote attacker needs a user to load the file with fickling.load(), which runs the payload with the victim's privileges.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-31
Description from the CNA
In Trail of Bits fickling through 0.1.12, the _process_import() method in fickle.py adds an imported name to the likely_safe_imports set whenever the source module is present in sys.stdlib_module_names and the name is absent from the UNSAFE_IMPORTS denylist, without inspecting what the name resolves to or how it behaves. The OvertlyBadEvals analysis pass in analysis.py then unconditionally skips any call whose function name appears in likely_safe_imports, including calls that would otherwise be flagged as overtly dangerous. As a result, any callable reachable through a non-blocked standard library module inherits module-level trust regardless of its own behavior, and check_safety() returns LIKELY_SAFE with zero findings for pickle payloads that reach code execution or file write through such callables. Demonstrated primitives: dataclasses._create_fn, which passes an attacker-controlled function body to exec() and yields arbitrary code execution on Python 3.7 through 3.12 (the internal _create_fn function was removed in Python 3.13); mailcap.findmatch, which internally calls os.system() on a test command taken from an attacker-controlled caps dictionary, yielding arbitrary code execution on Python versions through 3.12 (the mailcap module was removed in Python 3.13); and readline.add_history() followed by readline.write_history_file(), which writes attacker-controlled content to an arbitrary filesystem path (POSIX platforms, where the readline module is available). fickling.load() chains check_safety() into pickle.loads() as an explicit security gate, so a LIKELY_SAFE verdict causes the payload to be deserialized and executed with the privileges of the victim process. The root cause is the inference of callable safety from module origin; it is independent of, and separately fixable from, the dotted __qualname__ resolution weakness tracked as CVE-2026-118938, which this advisory does not address. As of 2026-10-30 the three demonstrated modules were added to UNSAFE_IMPORTS on the vendor master branch (commit d011709) pending release; released versions through 0.1.12 remain affected, and the module-origin trust root cause persists, as demonstrated by the related CVE-2026-118938 remaining exploitable on that same build.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trailofbits | fickling | up to 0.1.12 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- fickling Vendortrailofbits Affected up to 0.1.12 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1
Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:trailofbits:fickling:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | — | — | trailofbits |
- cpe:2.3:a:trailofbits:fickling:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·trailofbits
Remediation
The sources list no fixed version for fickling. The vendor master branch adds the affected modules to UNSAFE_IMPORTS, pending release. Red Hat lists Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) as affected with no plan available.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-31
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) | Affected | No fix yet |
Timeline
- 2026-10-30 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-16760
- 2026-10-31 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-31 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-31 Alias added: GHSA-cgc3-662q-qmrc
- 2026-11-01 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-11-06 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM
References
More trailofbits vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-18173 Fickling vulnerable to detection bypass due to "builtins" blindness CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.9
- TI-2026-18170 Fickling has Static Analysis Bypass via Incomplete Dangerous Module Blocklist CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.9
- TI-2026-18169 Fickling vulnerable to use of ctypes and pydoc gadget chain to bypass detection CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.9
- TI-2026-18168 Fickling Blocklist Bypass: cProfile.run() CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.9
- TI-2026-18167 Fickling has a bypass via runpy.run_path() and runpy.run_module() CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.9
- TI-2026-12265 Fickling MLAllowlist analysis pass rendered inoperative by shared mutable state in AnalysisContext.shorten_code() CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-16760 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-16760 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-cgc3-662q-qmrc · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-16760 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences