CVE Database›Document archive›CVE-2026-24049

CVE-2026-24049

wheel: wheel: Privilege Escalation or Arbitrary Code Execution via malicious wheel file unpacking

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Severity

Important

Red Hat Product Security

7.1

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 · 7.1
CVSS: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