CVE-2026-24049
wheel: wheel: Privilege Escalation or Arbitrary Code Execution via malicious wheel file unpacking
Severity
ImportantRed Hat Product Security
CVSS 3.1
Review impact separately from score.
Published · January 22, 2026
Updated · November 1, 2026
Description
A path traversal flaw has been discovered in the python wheel too. The unpack function is vulnerable to file permission modification through mishandling of file permissions after extraction. The logic blindly trusts the filename from the archive header for the chmod operation, even though the extraction process itself might have sanitized the path. Attackers can craft a malicious wheel file that, when unpacked, changes the permissions of critical system files (e.g., /etc/passwd, SSH keys, config files), allowing for Privilege Escalation or arbitrary code execution by modifying now-writable scripts.
CVSS score applicability
The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
CVSS / CWE
CVSS 3.1 · 7.1CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory