#VU48600 Path traversal in py-pip - CVE-2019-20916

Vulnerability identifier: #VU48600

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 4.6 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-20916

CWE-ID: CWE-22

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
py-pip
Other software / Other software solutions

Vendor: www.pip-installer.org

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform directory traversal attacks.

The vulnerability exists due to input validation error when processing directory traversal sequences passed via URL to the install command within the _download_http_url() function in _internal/download.py. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted HTTP request with the Content-Disposition header that contains directory traversal characters in the filename and overwrite the /root/.ssh/authorized_keys file.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

py-pip: 19.0 - 19.1.1

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External links
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-10/msg00005.html
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-10/msg00010.html
https://github.com/gzpan123/pip/commit/a4c735b14a62f9cb864533808ac63936704f2ace
https://github.com/pypa/pip/compare/19.1.1...19.2
https://github.com/pypa/pip/issues/6413
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/09/msg00010.html

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.