CVE-2018-20225
This only affects use of the --extra-index-url option, and exploitation requires that the package does not already exist in the public index (and thus the attacker can put the package there with an arbitrary version number).
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (1.78%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
An issue was discovered in pip (all versions) because it installs the version with the highest version number, even if the user had intended to obtain a private package from a private index. This only affects use of the --extra-index-url option, and exploitation requires that the package does not already exist in the public index (and thus the attacker can put the package there with an arbitrary version number). NOTE: it has been reported that this is intended functionality and the user is responsible for using --extra-index-url securely
- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 1.78% probability · 78th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-20
- Affected
- pypa/pip
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS 1.8% since 27 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1835736
- https://cowlicks.website/posts/arbitrary-code-execution-from-pips-extra-index-url.htmlThird Party Advisory
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb1adce798445facd032870d644eb39c4baaf9c4a7dd5477d12bb6ab2%40%3Cgithub.arrow.apache.org%3E
- https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/news/Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1835736
- https://cowlicks.website/posts/arbitrary-code-execution-from-pips-extra-index-url.htmlThird Party Advisory
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb1adce798445facd032870d644eb39c4baaf9c4a7dd5477d12bb6ab2%40%3Cgithub.arrow.apache.org%3E
- https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/news/Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.