CVE-2013-4251
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2013-4251 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in SciPy's scipy.weave component that creates temporary directories with insecure permissions. This allows local attackers to write arbitrary files to system locations, potentially leading to code execution. Affects users of SciPy versions before 0.12.1 who use the weave functionality.
💻 Affected Systems
- SciPy
📦 What is this software?
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Scipy by Scipy
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Local privilege escalation to root/system-level access through arbitrary file writes, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
Likely Case
Local user gains elevated privileges to execute arbitrary code in the context of the SciPy process owner.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper file system permissions and user isolation are implemented; attacker confined to user-level access.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires local access to the system and knowledge of temporary directory creation patterns. Proof-of-concept code has been discussed in security advisories.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: SciPy 0.12.1 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2013-4251
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Upgrade SciPy to version 0.12.1 or later using your package manager (pip install --upgrade scipy>=0.12.1). 2. Verify the upgrade completed successfully. 3. No restart required, but affected Python processes should be restarted.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable scipy.weave functionality
allPrevent use of the vulnerable weave component by disabling it or removing permissions.
# Remove weave module: rm -rf /path/to/scipy/weave
# Or set restrictive permissions: chmod 000 /path/to/scipy/weave
Use secure temporary directory
linuxSet TMPDIR environment variable to a secure, user-owned directory with proper permissions.
export TMPDIR=/tmp/secure_$USER
mkdir -p $TMPDIR && chmod 700 $TMPDIR
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict file system permissions to limit user access to system directories.
- Monitor for suspicious file creation in temporary directories and system locations.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check SciPy version: python -c "import scipy; print(scipy.__version__)" - if version is less than 0.12.1, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
python -c "import scipy; print(scipy.__version__)"Verify Fix Applied:
After upgrade, verify version is 0.12.1 or higher: python -c "import scipy; print(scipy.__version__)"📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual file creation in system directories by Python/scipy processes
- Permission denied errors in application logs related to temporary file access
Network Indicators:
- None - this is a local vulnerability
SIEM Query:
Process creation events for python/scipy followed by file creation in system directories (e.g., /tmp, /var/tmp with insecure permissions)🔗 References
- http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2013-November/120696.html
- http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2013-October/119759.html
- http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2013-October/119771.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/63008
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2013-4251
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2013-4251
- https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2013-4251
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/88052
- https://github.com/scipy/scipy/commit/bd296e0336420b840fcd2faabb97084fd252a973
- https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2013-4251
- http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2013-November/120696.html
- http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2013-October/119759.html
- http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2013-October/119771.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/63008
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2013-4251
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2013-4251
- https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2013-4251
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/88052
- https://github.com/scipy/scipy/commit/bd296e0336420b840fcd2faabb97084fd252a973
- https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2013-4251
