Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Picklescan versions before 0.0.25 can miss a dangerous Numpy-based pickle pattern. A malicious file may appear safe during scanning but still run arbitrary code when later deserialized. Business risk is highest where untrusted pickle or ML artifacts are accepted, exchanged, or promoted through automated workflows.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority remediation for ML and data workflows that handle pickle files. It is not known to be exploited in the wild from the provided sources, but it undermines a safety control and can lead to code execution if malicious artifacts are loaded.
Technical view
This is a CWE-184 incomplete detection issue in Picklescan’s static analysis. The advisory describes bypassing unsafe Numpy function detection using numpy.testing._private.utils.runstring in pickle reduction logic, enabling arbitrary OS command execution when the pickle is loaded. CVSS v4.0 is 7.6 high, with network attack vector and user interaction required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to environments using Picklescan before 0.0.25 to assess pickle files, especially ML, data science, or artifact intake pipelines. The vulnerable condition matters most when teams treat a clean scan as permission to deserialize untrusted files.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not report active exploitation, and KEV is false. Exploitation requires a crafted pickle file and a user or workflow that later loads it. The public description confirms arbitrary code execution is possible during deserialization after static analysis is bypassed.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record, GitHub advisory, and VulnCheck summary. The vulnerable behavior is a detection bypass, not a direct network service flaw. Validation should focus on versioning, trust boundaries for pickle artifacts, and whether scan results are used as a deserialization gate.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Picklescan to version 0.0.25 or later.
- Avoid deserializing pickle files from untrusted or unverified sources.
- Review workflows that trust Picklescan output before loading artifacts.
- Check vendor advisory updates for any additional guidance.
- Quarantine previously accepted pickle artifacts from untrusted origins until reviewed.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Picklescan versions in developer, CI, and artifact-scanning environments.
- Confirm no deployed workflow uses Picklescan before 0.0.25.
- Identify pipelines that deserialize pickle files after static scanning.
- Review recent accepted pickle artifacts from external or low-trust sources.
- Verify dependency lockfiles and container images include the fixed version.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-184: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2025-71355 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.6 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
7.6HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-fj43-3qmq-673f)CVE reference, VulnCheck · vendor-advisory
- VulnCheck Advisory: Picklescan - Arbitrary Code Execution via Unsafe Numpy Function Detection BypassCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs
Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.