Cloud Vulnerability DB
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Vulnerability DatabaseCVE-2019-20477
CVE-2019-20477:
Python vulnerability analysis and mitigation
Overview
CVE-2019-20477 affects PyYAML versions 5.1 through 5.1.2, where insufficient restrictions exist on the load and load_all functions due to a class deserialization issue. This vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2017-18342 (Ubuntu Security, Debian Tracker).
Technical details
The vulnerability specifically involves the subprocess module's Popen class, which can be exploited through Python/object/apply constructor in FullLoader. The issue stems from insufficient restrictions in the YAML parsing functionality (Red Hat Portal).
Impact
When exploited, this vulnerability could lead to arbitrary code execution when processing untrusted YAML files. This poses a significant security risk for applications that process YAML data from untrusted sources (Red Hat Portal).
Mitigation and workarounds
The recommended mitigation is to upgrade to PyYAML version 5.2 or later, which includes fixes for this vulnerability. For systems that cannot be immediately upgraded, it is recommended to avoid processing untrusted YAML input (Debian Tracker).
Additional resources
Source: This report was generated using AI
Related Python vulnerabilities:
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