CVE-2023-49797
8.8 · HIGHOverview
CVE-2023-49797 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting pyinstaller pyinstaller. It was published on December 9, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
Technical Description
PyInstaller bundles a Python application and all its dependencies into a single package. A PyInstaller built application, elevated as a privileged process, may be tricked by an unprivileged attacker into deleting files the unprivileged user does not otherwise have access to. A user is affected if **all** the following are satisfied: 1. The user runs an application containing either `matplotlib` or `win32com`. 2. The application is ran as administrator (or at least a user with higher privileges than the attacker). 3. The user's temporary directory is not locked to that specific user (most likely due to `TMP`/`TEMP` environment variables pointing to an unprotected, arbitrary, non default location). Either: A. The attacker is able to very carefully time the replacement of a temporary file with a symlink. This switch must occur exactly between `shutil.rmtree()`'s builtin symlink check and the deletion itself B: The application was built with Python 3.7.x or earlier which has no protection
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from pyinstaller. Update pyinstaller to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| pyinstaller | pyinstaller | >= 0, < 5.13.1 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-49797?
CVE-2023-49797 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting pyinstaller pyinstaller. It was published on December 9, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2023-49797?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-49797?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from pyinstaller. Update pyinstaller to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-49797?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2023-49797 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
Automated penetration testing that runs continuously, not just quarterly.
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