CVE-2025-8869 Fallback tar extraction in pip doesn't check symbolic links point to extraction directory
Attackers can exploit pip's fallback tar extraction to write files outside the target directory via symbolic links, potentially leading to code execution.
- 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
What is CVE-2025-8869?
CVE-2025-8869 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Python Packaging Authority pip, published on 24 Sep 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
When extracting a tar archive pip may not check symbolic links point into the extraction directory if the tarfile module doesn't implement PEP 706. Note that upgrading pip to a "fixed" version for this vulnerability doesn't fix all known vulnerabilities that are remediated by using a Python version that implements PEP 706.
Note that this is a vulnerability in pip's fallback implementation of tar extraction for Python versions that don't implement PEP 706 and therefore are not secure to all vulnerabilities in the Python 'tarfile' module. If you're using a Python version that implements PEP 706 then pip doesn't use the "vulnerable" fallback code.
Mitigations include upgrading to a version of pip that includes the fix, upgrading to a Python version that implements PEP 706 (Python >=3.9.17, >=3.10.12, >=3.11.4, or >=3.12), applying the linked patch, or inspecting source distributions (sdists) before installation as is already a best-practice.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-8869?
3 open source packages ship an affected version, including pip.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
pip PyPI | All versions | 25.3 |
pip PyPI | All versions | 25.3 |
pip PyPI | All versions | 25.3 |
How do I fix CVE-2025-8869?
Upgrade pip to 25.3 or later.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2025-8869 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-8869 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-67788, BELL-CVE-2025-8869, CLEANSTART-2026-BZ71423, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-8869, ECHO-ffe1-1d3c-d9bc, GHSA-4xh5-x5gv-qwph and 15 more.