CVE-2020-5252 | Malicious package may avoid detection in python auditing

The command-line "safety" package for Python has a potential security issue. There are two Python characteristics that allow malicious code to “poison-pill” command-line Safety package detection routines by disguising, or obfuscating, other malicious or non-secure packages. This vulnerability is considered to be of low severity because the attack makes use of an existing Python condition, not the Safety tool itself. This can happen if: You are running Safety in a Python environment that you don’t trust. You are running Safety from the same Python environment where you have your dependencies installed. Dependency packages are being installed arbitrarily or without proper verification. Users can mitigate this issue by doing any of the following: Perform a static analysis by installing Docker and running the Safety Docker image: $ docker run --rm -it pyupio/safety check -r requirements.txt Run Safety against a static dependencies list, such as the requirements.txt file, in a separate, clean Python environment. Run Safety from a Continuous Integration pipeline. Use PyUp.io, which runs Safety in a controlled environment and checks Python for dependencies without any need to install them. Use PyUp's Online Requirements Checker.

Published: 2020-03-23 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-5252 is rated Low Risk (30.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.37%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2020-5252

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 0.08% 0.37% +0.29%
2 2023-03-07 0.89% 0.08% -0.81%
3 2022-04-01 0.89%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-5252

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.0 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
0.6 4.0 [email protected]
4.1 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
0.5 3.6 [email protected]
1.9 2.0 LOW
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
3.4 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-5252

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2020-5252

GHSA-7q25-qrjw-6fg2 · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: pip — Malicious package may avoid detection in python auditing

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-5252

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
pyup safety <= 1.8.6 cpe:2.3:a:pyup:safety:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-5252

cvelogic Threat Intelligence