Summary
Picklescan is missing detection when calling built-in python ensurepip.runpip
Using ensurepip._run_pip function, which is a built-in python library function to execute remote pickle file.
Details
The attack payload executes in the following steps:
First, the attacker craft the payload by calling to ensurepip._run_pip function in reduce method
Then when the victim after checking whether the pickle file is safe by using Picklescan library and this library doesn't dectect any dangerous functions, decide to pickle.load() this malicious pickle file, thus lead to remote code execution.
PoC
from ensurepip import _run_pip
class EvilEnsurepipRunpip:
def __reduce__(self):
payload = "[(__import__('os').system('whoami'),)]"
return _run_pip, (payload,)
Corresponding
Impact
Who is impacted? Any organization or individual relying on picklescan to detect malicious pickle files inside PyTorch models.
What is the impact? Attackers can embed malicious code in pickle file that remains undetected but executes when the pickle file is loaded.
Supply Chain Attack: Attackers can distribute infected pickle files across ML models, APIs, or saved Python objects.
Untrusted serialized data is processed by a deserializer that can instantiate arbitrary objects or execute code as a side effect. Typical impact: arbitrary code execution or logic abuse.
CVE-2025-71344 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (0.0.30); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-71344? CVE-2025-71344 is a high-severity insecure deserialization vulnerability in picklescan (pip), affecting versions < 0.0.30. It is fixed in 0.0.30. Untrusted serialized data is processed by a deserializer that can instantiate arbitrary objects or execute code as a side effect.
- How severe is CVE-2025-71344? CVE-2025-71344 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of picklescan are affected by CVE-2025-71344? picklescan (pip) versions < 0.0.30 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-71344? Yes. CVE-2025-71344 is fixed in 0.0.30. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2025-71344 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-71344 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2025-71344 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2025-71344? Upgrade
picklescanto 0.0.30 or later.