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Servers and applications

CVE-2008-5983

Untrusted search path vulnerability in the PySys_SetArgv API function in Python 2.6 and earlier, and possibly later versions, prepends an empty string to sys.path when the argv[0] argument does not contain a path separator, which might allow local users to execute arbitrary code via a Trojan horse Python file in the current working directory.

Severity
Medium 6.9
Published
28 Jan 2009
Last changed
16 Jun 2026
Added to UpHeron
21 Oct 2026
Fixed in
2.6.6, 3.1.3
Exploit chance
0.5% in the next 30 daysHigher than 42% of CVEs. EPSS by FIRST, 12 Nov 2026
Weakness
CWE-426
Attack
Needs local access · No login needed
Attacker can
Read data · Change data · Take it down
CVSS vector
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Sources
NVD

Affected software

SoftwareAffected versions
PythonServers and applications · cpe:a:python:python
  • Every version before 2.6.6
  • From 3.1.0 before 3.1.3

References

  • NVD https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-5983
  • CVE.org https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-5983