CVE-2011-4944

Severity: low (CVSS 1.9 v2.0)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2012-08-27 · updated 2026-06-16
Weakness: CWE-264

Description

Python 2.6 through 3.2 creates ~/.pypirc with world-readable permissions before changing them after data has been written, which introduces a race condition that allows local users to obtain a username and password by reading this file.

Affected products

Python: 2.6.1, 2.6.2, 2.6.3, 2.6.4, 2.6.5, 2.6.6 (+21)

References

http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=650555
http://bugs.python.org/file23824/pypirc-secure.diff
http://bugs.python.org/issue13512
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2013/Oct/msg00004.html
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-01/msg00040.html
http://secunia.com/advisories/50858
http://secunia.com/advisories/51024
http://secunia.com/advisories/51040
http://secunia.com/advisories/51087
http://secunia.com/advisories/51089
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/03/27/10
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/03/27/2

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