# CVE-2025-1716: picklescan - Security scanning bypass via 'pip main'

> Attackers can bypass picklescan security checks by using pip.main() in malicious models, leading to arbitrary code execution.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 29 Dec 2025

## What is CVE-2025-1716?

CVE-2025-1716 is a medium-severity vulnerability in mmaitre314 picklescan, published on 26 Feb 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

picklescan before 0.0.21 does not treat 'pip' as an unsafe global. An attacker could craft a malicious model that uses Pickle to pull in a malicious PyPI package (hosted, for example, on pypi.org or GitHub) via `pip.main()`. Because pip is not a restricted global, the model, when scanned with picklescan, would pass security checks and appear to be safe, when it could instead prove to be problematic.

Weakness: CWE-184 (Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-1716?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mmaitre314 Picklescan.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-1716?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2025-1716 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-1716 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/xp3s/poc_CVE-2025-1716 (github_poc): https://github.com/xp3s/poc_CVE-2025-1716
- https://github.com/danigil/cve-2025-1716 (github_poc): https://github.com/danigil/cve-2025-1716

## Other vulnerabilities in mmaitre314 picklescan

- [CVE-2025-10155](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-10155/): PickleScan Security Bypass Using Misleading File Extension (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2025-10156](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-10156/): PickleScan Security Bypass via Bad CRC in ZIP Archive (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2025-10157](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-10157/): PickleScan Bypasses Unsafe Globals Check Using Submodule Imports (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2025-71348](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71348/): picklescan - Arbitrary Code Execution via torch.utils._config_module.load_config Bypass (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2025-71357](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71357/): picklescan - Arbitrary Code Execution via Undetected idlelib.pyshell.ModifiedInterpreter.runcommand (high 7.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-1716 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-1716 is a medium-severity vulnerability in mmaitre314 picklescan, published on 26 Feb 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-1716 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: mmaitre314 picklescan. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-1716/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-1716/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-1716
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-1716
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-1716

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-1716/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.