CVE-2025-5175 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting the erdogant pypickle library versions 1.1.0 through 1.1.5. The vulnerability resides in the Save function within the pypickle/pypickle.py file, where improper authorization checks allow a local attacker with limited privileges (PR:L) to manipulate the function's behavior. The vulnerability does not require user interaction (UI:N) and can be exploited with low attack complexity (AC:L). The impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is limited (VC:L, VI:L, VA:L), indicating that the attacker can cause some unauthorized actions but with constrained scope and effect. Exploitation requires local access to the system, which reduces the attack surface compared to remote vulnerabilities. The vulnerability has been publicly disclosed, but no known exploits are currently observed in the wild. The issue is resolved by upgrading to version 2.0.0 of pypickle, which includes a patch identified by commit 14b4cae704a0bb4eb6723e238f25382d847a1917. Given the nature of the vulnerability, it likely allows an attacker to bypass certain authorization checks during the save operation, potentially leading to unauthorized data manipulation or privilege escalation within the context of the local environment where pypickle is used. Since pypickle is a Python serialization library, improper authorization in its save function could lead to unauthorized persistence or modification of serialized data, which may affect applications relying on it for data storage or transfer.

For European organizations, the impact depends heavily on the extent to which pypickle is integrated into their software stacks, particularly in environments where local access can be gained by an attacker. Organizations using pypickle in development, testing, or production environments that handle sensitive data may face risks of unauthorized data modification or local privilege escalation. This could lead to data integrity issues, potential data leakage if serialized data is sensitive, or disruption of application workflows. However, since exploitation requires local access and the vulnerability has limited impact on confidentiality and availability, the risk is somewhat contained. Nonetheless, in environments with shared access or weak endpoint security, this vulnerability could be leveraged by malicious insiders or attackers who have already gained limited local access to escalate their privileges or tamper with critical data. This is particularly relevant for European organizations in sectors with strict data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR), where unauthorized data manipulation could lead to compliance violations and reputational damage.

European organizations should prioritize upgrading erdogant pypickle to version 2.0.0 or later to apply the official patch that addresses the improper authorization issue. Beyond upgrading, organizations should enforce strict local access controls and endpoint security measures to prevent unauthorized users from gaining local access to systems running vulnerable versions of pypickle. Implementing application whitelisting and monitoring for unusual local activity related to pypickle's save operations can help detect exploitation attempts. Additionally, code audits and reviews should be conducted on applications using pypickle to ensure that serialization and deserialization processes are securely implemented and do not expose sensitive data or allow unauthorized modifications. Where possible, sandboxing or containerizing applications using pypickle can limit the impact of local exploits. Finally, organizations should maintain up-to-date inventories of software dependencies to quickly identify and remediate vulnerable components.