Read the docs

Fickling check_safety() bypass via dotted pickle class method names

Priority MEDIUM 41CWE-502Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
Code execution
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.

Summary

Trail of Bits fickling through 0.1.12 resolves dotted names in pickle STACK_GLOBAL operands to class methods, but its analysis records only the leading name and never checks the trailing attribute as a call (CWE-706). A remote attacker can supply a crafted pickle that a user loads with fickling.load(), which runs arbitrary code while check_safety() reports no findings.

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, a pickle STACK_GLOBAL operand carrying a dotted __qualname__ (for example "Values.read_file") is resolved by pickle's find_class through _getattribute to an arbitrary attribute path rather than to a module-level function. Fickling records only the leading component of the name in its import tracking and renders the operation as a plain import (for instance, 'python -m fickling' displays it as 'from optparse import Values.read_file'), so the trailing attribute reference is never analyzed as a call. The OvertlyBadEvals analysis pass does not flag it, and check_safety() returns LIKELY_SAFE with zero findings. This allows an attacker to reach a class method that performs code execution: optparse.Values.read_file executes exec(open(filename).read(), vars), achieving arbitrary code execution when the crafted pickle is loaded through fickling.load(), which chains check_safety() into pickle.loads() as an explicit security gate. optparse is present in all current CPython 3.x releases (deprecated as of Python 3.13, not removed). This weakness is in the resolution and analysis of dotted attribute-path names, and is distinct from and independently fixable from the module-origin trust weakness tracked as CVE-2026-16760: resolving or flagging dotted attribute-path imports closes this vector while leaving the module-level trust behavior unchanged. This bypass was verified to remain present on the vendor master branch at commit d011709 as of 2026-10-30, after the vendor's October blocklist additions and a new heuristic that flags private stdlib attributes; because the public class method Values.read_file is neither blocklisted nor flagged as a private attribute, it is not addressed by those remediations.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00478 41st percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix No fix listed No fixed version in the sources yet

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

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
trailofbitsficklingup to 0.1.12—No fix listedCNA
  • 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.

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:trailofbits:fickling:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*——trailofbits
  • cpe:2.3:a:trailofbits:fickling:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·trailofbits

Remediation

The sources list no fixed version for fickling. Red Hat's plan for Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) is none 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 →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)AffectedNo fix yet

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-30 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-118938
  2. 2026-10-31 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  3. 2026-10-31 CVSS score added · Red Hat
  4. 2026-10-31 Alias added: GHSA-6jfm-qx2v-27jg
  5. 2026-11-01 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
  6. 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
  7. 2026-11-06 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM

References

  • 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
See all 14 →

Sources