CVE-2020-10289 | RVD#2401: Use of unsafe yaml load, ./src/actionlib/tools/library.py:132

Use of unsafe yaml load. Allows instantiation of arbitrary objects. The flaw itself is caused by an unsafe parsing of YAML values which happens whenever an action message is processed to be sent, and allows for the creation of Python objects. Through this flaw in the ROS core package of actionlib, an attacker with local or remote access can make the ROS Master, execute arbitrary code in Python form. Consider yaml.safe_load() instead. Located first in actionlib/tools/library.py:132. See links for more info on the bug.

Published: 2020-08-20 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2020-10289 is rated Moderate Risk (63.5/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.95%). EPSS rose +1.15% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-10289

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.80% 1.95% +1.15%
2 2026-04-06 0.41% 0.80% +0.39%
3 2026-01-23 — 0.41% —

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-10289

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.0 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.1 5.9 [email protected]
6.5 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 8.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-10289

OS Trackers for CVE-2020-10289

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2020-10289 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (ros-actionlib), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-10289
ubuntu medium CVE-2020-10289 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (ros-actionlib), 16 status rows across 16 suites (bionic, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 7, DNE 5, needs-triage 4. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-10289

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-10289

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
openrobotics robot_operating_system — cpe:2.3:o:openrobotics:robot_operating_system:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-10289

URL Tags
https://github.com/ros/actionlib/pull/171 Patch Third Party Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence