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CVE-2023-6597VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2023-6597: Python Software Foundation CPython · Vulnerability

Affects Python Software Foundation CPythonSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 23% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 19 Mar 2024

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
PyPIcpythonpkg:pypi/cpythonOther threatsAffected
  • <=3.8.18
  • <=3.9.18
  • <=3.10.13
  • <=3.11.7
  • =3.12.1
Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

1. Monitor for and apply official patches or updates from the Python Software Foundation as soon as they become available to address CVE-2023-6597. 2. Until patches are applied, restrict the ability of untrusted users to execute privileged programs or scripts that utilize tempfile.TemporaryDirectory, especially in environments where symlinks can be created. 3. Implement strict filesystem permissions and policies to limit symlink creation and usage by non-administrative users. 4. Audit existing codebases and scripts for usage of tempfile.TemporaryDirectory in privileged contexts and refactor or add safeguards to prevent symlink dereferencing during cleanup. 5. Employ runtime monitoring to detect unusual permission changes or symlink manipulations on critical files. 6. Educate developers and system administrators about the risks of symlink dereferencing in privileged operations and encourage secure coding practices. 7. Use containerization or sandboxing to isolate processes that handle temporary directories to minimize potential damage from exploitation.

Description

An issue was found in the CPython `tempfile.TemporaryDirectory` class affecting versions 3.12.1, 3.11.7, 3.10.13, 3.9.18, and 3.8.18 and prior. The tempfile.TemporaryDirectory class would dereference symlinks during cleanup of permissions-related errors. This means users which can run privileged programs are potentially able to modify permissions of files referenced by symlinks in some circumstances.

References

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