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QiskitApplication · Ibm

CVE-2025-2000

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.4.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A maliciously crafted QPY file can potential execute arbitrary-code embedded in the payload without privilege escalation when deserialising QPY formats < 13. A python process calling Qiskit 0.18.0 through 1.4.1's `qiskit.qpy.load()` function could potentially execute any arbitrary Python code embedded in the correct place in the binary file as part of specially constructed payload.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Qiskit versions 0.18.0 through 1.4.1 contain a deserialization vulnerability in the qiskit.qpy.load() function. Specially crafted QPY files (binary format versions < 13) can contain embedded arbitrary Python code that executes automatically during deserialization without requiring privilege escalation. This is a dangerous insecure deserialization flaw similar to pickle vulnerabilities.

MitigationUpgrade Qiskit to version 1.4.2 or later. Avoid loading QPY files from untrusted or unverified sources. If loading external QPY files is required, implement strict input validation and sandboxing.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
QiskitApplication
Affected:>= 0.18.0, < 1.4.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Qiskit version
    Run 'pip show qiskit' or 'python -c "import qiskit; print(qiskit.__version__)"'
    Affected if Version is 0.18.0 through 1.4.1 (less than 1.4.2)
  2. Verify qiskit.qpy module is importable
    Run 'python -c "from qiskit import qpy"' to confirm the module exists
    Affected if The module imports successfully and the codebase uses qiskit.qpy.load()
  3. Identify QPY file loading usage
    Search codebase for 'qiskit.qpy.load' or 'from qiskit.qpy import load' patterns
    Affected if Codebase contains calls to qiskit.qpy.load() function to deserialize QPY files
  4. Inspect QPY file format version (if applicable)
    Open the QPY file in a hex editor or use Python to read the first few bytes: 'import qiskit.qpy; f=open('file.qpy','rb'); print(f.read(4))' - the first 4 bytes encode the format version as a little-endian integer
    Affected if QPY format version is less than 13 (version bytes value < 13)

You are affected if running Qiskit 0.18.0-1.4.1 and using qiskit.qpy.load() to deserialize QPY files, particularly those with format version < 13.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.4.2 or later
Fixed in 1.4.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Qiskit to version 1.4.2 or later. Avoid loading QPY files from untrusted or unverified sources. If loading external QPY files is required, implement strict input validation and sandboxing.

Recommended fix High confidence

Qiskit 1.4.2 or later (preferably latest stable 1.x release)

  1. Check current Qiskit version by running: pip show qiskit
  2. Upgrade Qiskit to version 1.4.2 or later using: pip install --upgrade qiskit>=1.4.2
  3. Verify the upgrade was successful by running: pip show qiskit and confirming the version is >= 1.4.2
  4. If using qiskit.qpy.load() to load QPY files from untrusted sources, implement additional validation and consider using QPY format 13 or later which includes security fixes
  5. Audit existing code that uses qiskit.qpy.load() to ensure only trusted QPY files are processed
Caveat Qiskit major version upgrades may introduce breaking changes; review the Qiskit changelog before upgrading production systems

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Qiskit Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-2000 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data