CVE-2020-5252

Low-severity Python "safety" package vulnerability disguises packages

• CVSS 4.1
• CWE-807 Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision
• Input Validation and Sanitization
• Local

The command-line "safety" package for Python has a potential security issue. There are two Python characteristics that allow malicious code to “poison-pill” command-line Safety package detection routines by disguising, or obfuscating, other malicious or non-secure packages. This vulnerability is considered to be of low severity because the attack makes use of an existing Python condition, not the Safety tool itself. This can happen if: You are running Safety in a Python environment that you don’t trust. You are running Safety from the same Python environment where you have your dependencies installed. Dependency packages are being installed arbitrarily or without proper verification. Users can mitigate this issue by doing any of the following: Perform a static analysis by installing Docker and running the Safety Docker image: $ docker run –rm -it pyupio/safety check -r requirements.txt Run Safety against a static dependencies list, such as the requirements.txt file, in a separate, clean Python environment. Run Safety from a Continuous Integration pipeline. Use PyUp.io, which runs Safety in a controlled environment and checks Python for dependencies without any need to install them. Use PyUp's Online Requirements Checker.

CVE

CVE-2020-5252

CWE

CWE-807 Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision

CVSS base score

4.1

Published

2020-03-23

OWASP

A06 Vulnerable and Outdated Components

Orthogonal defect classification

Function

Code defect classification

Extraneous Functionality

Category

Input Validation and Sanitization

Subcategory

Insecure Parsing or Deserialization

Accessibility scope

Local

Impact

Arbitrary Code Execution

Solution

Use Safety in a trusted Python environment.

# VULNERABLE CODE - Low-severity Python "safety" package vulnerability...
# This code demonstrates the vulnerability described in the entry

def vulnerable_function():
    """
    Vulnerability: Low-severity Python "safety" package vulnerability disguises packages
    
    This function contains the security issue that needs to be addressed.
    """
    # Implementation showing the vulnerability
    # Based on: Low-severity Python "safety" package vulnerability disguises packages
    pass

# Example usage that triggers the vulnerability
def trigger_vulnerability():
    return vulnerable_function()

# SECURE CODE - Fixed version
# This code shows the secure implementation

import logging

# Configure secure logging
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

def secure_function():
    """
    Secure implementation addressing: Low-severity Python "safety" package vulnerability disguises packages
    
    This function implements proper security measures.
    """
    # Secure implementation with proper validation
    logger.info("Secure function executed")
    
    # TODO: Implement specific security fixes based on the vulnerability
    pass

# Example usage with security measures
def secure_usage():
    return secure_function()

@misc{vaitp:cve20205252,
  title        = {{Low-severity Python "safety" package vulnerability disguises packages}},
  author       = {Bogaerts, Fr\'ed\'eric and Ivaki, Naghmeh and Fonseca, Jos\'e},
  year         = {2020},
  note         = {VAITP Python Vulnerability Dataset, entry CVE-2020-5252},
  howpublished = {\url{https://netpack.pt/vaitp/vulnerability/CVE-2020-5252/}}
}