Description
To allow builds of Python to be run from an in-tree layout (rather than
an installed file layout), the VPATH variable is defined at build time
and used to locate certain landmarks - specifically,
Modules/setup.local. When this landmark is found relative to VPATH
relative to the executable, Python assumes it is running in a source
tree and generates a different default sys.path. This code remains in
release builds, so that release-ready builds can be built in-tree.
On Windows, since builds are written to 'PCbuild/', the value of
VPATH is set to '..\..', which results in a landmark of
'..\..\Modules\setup.local'. This path is outside the install directory
of Python, and may have different permissions, potentially allowing a
low-privilege user to create the landmark and an alternative `Lib`
folder that will be discovered by an otherwise restricted install.
Such a setup occurs with the legacy default install location for all
users (in the now superseded EXE installer), due to how Windows allows
all users to create folders in the root directory of their OS drive.
Our recommended mitigation on Windows is to migrate away from the
legacy installer and use the new [Python install
manager](https://www.python.org/downloads/latest/pymanager/) to install
for the current user. Installs where the directory two levels above the
Python installation directory have equivalent permissions are unaffected
(in general, a per-user install cannot be modified at all by other
users, removing any escalation of privilege risk, and could be directly
modified by a privileged user, making the potential tampering
irrelevant). Alternative mitigations might include preemptively creating
and restricting access to a `Modules` directory. Be aware that only 3.13
and 3.14 will receive updated legacy installers - earlier fixes are only
provided as sources.
Platforms other than Windows allow VPATH to be overridden, but as they
don't usually use a separated directory in the build for binaries, are
unlikely to have a landmark reference outside of the install directory.
The landmark detection involving VPATH is a fallback for when a more
specific landmark - .\pybuilddir.txt - is absent, and was included for
compatibility. Future releases of Python will no longer include the
fallback, and so builds will need to generate or preserve the
pybuilddir.txt file in order to work in-tree. This landmark file has
been generated on Windows since 3.11, and on other platforms for longer.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python Software Foundation | CPython | < 3.11.16, 3.12.0 – < 3.12.14, 3.13.0 – < 3.13.15, 3.14.0 – < 3.14.7, 3.15.0a1 – < 3.15.0b3 | 3.11.16 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | python3.14 | 3.14.9-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | python3.13 | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | python3.11 | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | cython | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | cython | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | cython | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | cython | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | cython | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | python3 +15 | 3.14.7-1.2.hum1 | RHSA-2026:67572 |
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | python3.11 +6 | 3.11.16-1.4.hum1 | RHSA-2026:68135 |
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | python3.12 +6 | 3.12.14-1.3.hum1 | RHSA-2026:68154 |
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | python3.13 +8 | 3.13.15-1.3.hum1 | RHSA-2026:68309 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | python3 | 3.12.9-14 | — |
Advisories 5
- WID-SEC-2026-1971 CPython: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Oct 20, 2026
- RHSA-2026:68309 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 17, 2026
- RHSA-2026:68135 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 17, 2026
- RHSA-2026:68154 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 17, 2026
- RHSA-2026:67572 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 17, 2026
References
- https://github.com/python/cpython/pull/151545 patch
- https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/151544 issue-tracking
- https://https://mail.python.org/archives/list/security-announce@python.org/thread/JIFOBO7UX3LY4VJKJUOKYJV62CFR2IRH/ vendor-advisory
- https://github.com/python/cpython/commit/16c40f944b7bff724a403cf4902763d095bb4b2a patch
- https://github.com/python/cpython/commit/9e863fab283eddca9c2a8f9d1ee30f4dc243e314 patch
- https://github.com/python/cpython/commit/a86de0bc236fbb9452f98998fc8437e9fca35700 patch
- https://github.com/python/cpython/commit/b93d6d3399adbd3a5037b6b92fc3587c85ac5d56 patch
- https://github.com/python/cpython/commit/03ab7b44788bfd6b8927e16bcdbd025aa08dce06 patch
- https://github.com/python/cpython/commit/872038377db2e170e0e140b5f8aaedf636b3fbf5 patch