GHSA-VQMV-47XG-9WPR

Using pty.spawn, which is a built-in python library function to execute arbitrary commands on the host system.

Details

The attack payload executes in the following steps:
First, the attacker craft the payload by calling to pty.spawn function in the __reduce__ method. Then the victim attempts to use picklescan to scan the pickle file for issues and sees this -

----------- SCAN SUMMARY -----------
Scanned files: 1
Infected files: 0
Dangerous globals: 0

The victim proceeds to load the pickle file and execute attacker-injected arbitrary code.

PoC

class PtyExploit:
  def __reduce__(self):
    return (pty.spawn, (["/bin/sh", "-c", "id; exit"],))

Collaborators

https://github.com/ajohnston9
https://github.com/geo-lit

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.

Kodem intelligence

1. What is GHSA-VQMV-47XG-9WPR? GHSA-VQMV-47XG-9WPR is a high-severity insecure deserialization vulnerability in picklescan (pip), affecting versions < 0.0.33. It is fixed in 0.0.33. Untrusted serialized data is processed by a deserializer that can instantiate arbitrary objects or execute code as a side effect.
2. Which versions of picklescan are affected by GHSA-VQMV-47XG-9WPR? picklescan (pip) versions < 0.0.33 is affected.
3. Is there a fix for GHSA-VQMV-47XG-9WPR? Yes. GHSA-VQMV-47XG-9WPR is fixed in 0.0.33. Upgrade to this version or later.
4. Is GHSA-VQMV-47XG-9WPR exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-VQMV-47XG-9WPR 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
5. What actually determines whether GHSA-VQMV-47XG-9WPR 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.
6. How do I fix GHSA-VQMV-47XG-9WPR? Upgrade picklescan to 0.0.33 or later.