CVE-2026-14534: high-severity vulnerability in trailofbits fickling
Fickling check_safety() bypass via unlisted standard library modules (_posixsubprocess, site, atexit)
Published · Updated
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21Vexday Risk Score
No sign of exploitation. No public exploitation artifact known so far.
ssvc Trackcvss 8.8epss 0.6%
Trail of Bits fickling versions up to and including 0.1.10 do not include the Python standard library modules _posixsubprocess, site, and atexit in the UNSAFE_IMPORTS denylist (fickle.py). Because these modules are absent from the denylist, fickling's check_safety() function returns LIKELY_SAFE with zero findings for pickle payloads that invoke dangerous functions including _posixsubprocess.fork_exec (C-level process spawner capable of executing arbitrary binaries), site.execsitecustomize (executes arbitrary site customization code), and atexit._run_exitfuncs (triggers all registered exit handler callbacks). The fickling.load() API chains check_safety() into pickle.loads() as an explicit security gate; a LIKELY_SAFE verdict causes the payload to be deserialized and executed. This shares the same root cause as CVE-2026-22607 (cProfile), CVE-2025-67748 (pty), and CVE-2025-67747 (marshal/types). OvertlyBadEvals does not flag these modules because they are standard library imports. UnsafeImports does not flag them because they are not in the denylist. The UnusedVariables heuristic is defeated by the SETITEMS opcode pattern.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected products
trailofbits · ficklingRelated CVEs — trailofbits fickling
In the same product, most dangerous first.
CVE-2026-22609HIGHFickling has Static Analysis Bypass via Incomplete Dangerous Module BlocklistEPSS 0.6%CVE-2026-14535HIGHFickling MLAllowlist analysis pass rendered inoperative by shared mutable state in AnalysisContext.shorten_code()EPSS 0.6%CVE-2026-22607HIGHFickling Blocklist Bypass: cProfile.run()EPSS 0.5%CVE-2026-22606HIGHFickling has a bypass via runpy.run_path() and runpy.run_module()EPSS 0.5%CVE-2026-118938HIGHFickling check_safety() bypass: dotted __qualname__ in STACK_GLOBAL resolves a class-method attribute path that evades call analysisEPSS 0.5%CVE-2026-16760HIGHFickling check_safety() bypass: likely_safe_imports grants module-origin trust to unvalidated standard library callablesEPSS 0.5%