Critical Python Security Vulnerabilities: USN-7583-1 Patch Update (June 2025)

 

Critical Python vulnerability CVE-2025-4517 exposes Ubuntu systems to arbitrary file overwrites. Learn how to patch Python 3.12/3.13 and secure your dev environment today.

Urgent Security Alert for Python Developers

A newly discovered high-severity vulnerability (CVE-2025-4517) in Python’s tar archive handling could allow attackers to overwrite sensitive files on affected systems. Ubuntu has released critical security patches for Python 3.12 and 3.13—here’s what developers and sysadmins need to know.

🔴 Vulnerability Details

• Affected Versions: Python 3.12 & 3.13 (Ubuntu 24.04 Noble – 25.04 Plucky)

• Risk Level: High (Arbitrary file modification leading to potential data loss or system compromise)

• Root Cause: Improper filtering in tarfile extraction, allowing path traversal attacks.

"An attacker could exploit this flaw to modify files in arbitrary locations, bypassing security restrictions." — Ubuntu Security Notice

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🚨 Immediate Action Required: Patch Your Systems

Ubuntu Update Instructions

Ubuntu Release	Package	Fixed Version
25.04 Plucky	python3.13	3.13.3-1ubuntu0.2
24.10 Oracular	python3.12	3.12.7-1ubuntu2.2
	python3.13	3.13.0-1ubuntu0.3
24.04 Noble	python3.12	3.12.3-1ubuntu0.7

Patch Command:

bash

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade python3.12 python3.13

💡 Pro Tip: Reduce Long-Term Exposure

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🔍 Technical Deep Dive: How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability stems from insufficient path sanitization when extracting tar archives with filter='data', enabling:

• Directory traversal (e.g., writing to /etc/passwd)

• Privilege escalation in poorly configured environments

• Data destruction via malicious payloads

Mitigation Workaround (if patching is delayed):

python

# Avoid using tarfile.extractall() with untrusted archives
with tarfile.open("malicious.tar") as tar:
    for member in tar.getmembers():
        if not os.path.abspath(member.name).startswith("/safe/directory"):
            raise ValueError("Blocked path traversal attempt")

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📌 Key Takeaways for Developers

✅ Patch immediately—this is a wormable vulnerability in shared hosting environments.

✅ Audit CI/CD pipelines—ensure build systems use patched Python versions.

✅ Monitor logs for unexpected file modifications in /tmp, /var, etc.