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CVE-2008-5983

26
FAUCET Score

CVE-2008-5983 is an untrusted search path vulnerability in the PySys_SetArgv API function of Python 2.6 and earlier, affecting various distributions including Canonical and Fedora. This flaw allows local users to execute arbitrary code by placing a malicious Python file in the current working directory, as the system prepends an empty string to sys.path when argv[0] lacks a path separator. With a CVSS score of 6.9 (High), the vulnerability has a local attack vector, medium attack complexity, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. There is no evidence of active exploitation, public exploit code (Metasploit, Nuclei, ExploitDB), or significant community discussion or media coverage.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
< 2.6.6CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:python:python:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
>= 3.1.0, < 3.1.3CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:python:python:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
13CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
8.04CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:8.04:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
10.04CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:10.04:*:*:*:-:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 2.0

6.9MEDIUM

AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Confidentiality Impact
COMPLETE
Integrity Impact
COMPLETE
Availability Impact
COMPLETE
Access Vector
LOCAL
Access Complexity
MEDIUM
Authentication
NONE
Exploitability Score
3.4
Impact Score
10.0
CvssVersion
2.0

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
0.46%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
37.3%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-27
Model: v2026.06.15
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.0046 is in the 72nd percentile among its peer group of 1,595 CVEs.

Social Chatter

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.0 Reddit, 0.0 Bluesky, 0.0 Mastodon, and 0.1 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

No media coverage found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Patch Available

Vendor Patches (1)

redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5Fixed in: python-0:2.4.3-43.el5
View patch

Vendor Advisories (1)

redhatCVE-2008-5983Low

python: untrusted python modules search path

Aug 6, 2008

References

lists.fedoraproject.org / pipermail/package-announce/2010-June/042751.html
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
bugzilla.redhat.com / show_bug.cgi
Issue TrackingThird Party Advisory
secunia.com / advisories/34522
Not Applicable
secunia.com / advisories/40194
Not Applicable
secunia.com / advisories/42888
Not Applicable
secunia.com / advisories/50858
Not Applicable
secunia.com / advisories/51024
Not Applicable
secunia.com / advisories/51040
Not Applicable
secunia.com / advisories/51087
Not Applicable
security.gentoo.org / glsa/glsa-200903-41.xml
Third Party Advisory
security.gentoo.org / glsa/glsa-200904-06.xml
Third Party Advisory
mail-archive.com / debian-bugs-dist%40lists.debian.org/msg586010.html
nabble.com / Bug-484305%3A-bicyclerepair%3A-bike.vim-imports-untrusted-python-files-from-cwd-td18848099.html
Broken Link
openwall.com / lists/oss-security/2009/01/26/2
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
openwall.com / lists/oss-security/2009/01/28/5
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
openwall.com / lists/oss-security/2009/01/30/2
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
redhat.com / support/errata/RHSA-2011-0027.html
Third Party Advisory
ubuntu.com / usn/USN-1596-1
Third Party Advisory
ubuntu.com / usn/USN-1613-1
Third Party Advisory
ubuntu.com / usn/USN-1613-2
Third Party Advisory
ubuntu.com / usn/USN-1616-1
Third Party Advisory
vupen.com / english/advisories/2010/1448
Permissions Required
vupen.com / english/advisories/2011/0122
Permissions Required