Fickling check_safety() bypass via dotted pickle class method names
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
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. 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 →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) | Affected | No fix yet |
Timeline
- 2026-10-30 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-118938
- 2026-10-31 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-31 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-31 Alias added: GHSA-6jfm-qx2v-27jg
- 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-2026-118938 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-118938 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-6jfm-qx2v-27jg · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-118938 · 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