CVE-2019-20477: Critical severity pyyaml vulnerability

Published Nov 18, 2019
·
Updated

A vulnerability was discovered in the PyYAML library, where it is susceptible to arbitrary code execution when it processes untrusted YAML files through the fullload method or with the FullLoader loader. Applications that use the library to process untrusted input may be vulnerable to this flaw. An attacker could use this flaw to execute arbitrary code on the system by abusing the python/object/apply constructor.

Other sources

PyYAML 5.1 through 5.1.2 has insufficient restrictions on the load and loadall functions because of a class deserialization issue, e.g., Popen is a class in the subprocess module. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2017-18342.

Affected Software

5 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/pyYAML<5.2
5.2
pip/pyyaml>=5.1<5.2
5.2
PyYAML PyYAML>=5.1<=5.1.2
Fedoraproject Fedora=30
Fedoraproject Fedora=31

Remediation

Information

Use `yaml.safe_load` or the SafeLoader loader when you parse untrusted input.

Event History

Nov 18, 2019
CVE Published
12:00 AM
Data Sourced
12:00 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Feb 19, 2020
CVE Published
via MITRE·03:09 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·03:09 AM
Description
Apr 20, 2021
Advisory Published
via GitHub·04:40 PM

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Free Weekly Intel

Don't miss critical vulnerabilities

Join thousands of security professionals who receive our weekly digest of trending CVEs, zero-days, and exploited vulnerabilities.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2019-20477?

CVE-2019-20477 is a vulnerability in the PyYAML library that allows arbitrary code execution when processing untrusted YAML files.

2

What software versions are affected by CVE-2019-20477?

PyYAML versions 5.1 through 5.1.2 are affected by CVE-2019-20477.

3

How severe is CVE-2019-20477?

CVE-2019-20477 has a severity rating of 9.8 (Critical).

4

How can I fix CVE-2019-20477?

To fix CVE-2019-20477, upgrade to PyYAML version 5.2.

5

Where can I find more information about CVE-2019-20477?

You can find more information about CVE-2019-20477 at the following references: [Link 1](https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-18342), [Link 2](https://github.com/yaml/pyyaml/blob/master/CHANGES), [Link 3](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi/show_bug.cgi?id=1806010).

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2026 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203