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Code InjectionWeakness · CWE-94

CVE-2025-69872

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
DiskCache (python-diskcache) through 5.6.3 uses Python pickle for serialization by default. An attacker with write access to the cache directory can achieve arbitrary code execution when a victim application reads from the cache.

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

DiskCache (python-diskcache) through 5.6.3 uses Python's pickle module for serialization by default. An attacker who gains write access to the cache directory can inject malicious pickled objects. When the victim application reads these objects from the cache, the unpickling process deserializes and executes the attacker's arbitrary code.

MitigationReplace pickle serialization with a safe alternative such as JSON, or explicitly configure DiskCache to use a non-pickle serializer (e.g., json, msgpack). Audit all cache read operations to ensure no previously injected malicious objects are deserialized.

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

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. Identify python-diskcache version
    Run 'pip show diskcache' or check your package manager to find the installed version of python-diskcache
    Affected if Installed version is 5.6.3 or lower (the vulnerability affects through version 5.6.3)
  2. Verify cache serialization method in use
    Review your code where DiskCache is instantiated. Check if the 'serializer' parameter is explicitly set to a safe format like 'json'. If no serializer parameter is specified, the default pickle serializer is in use.
    Affected if No 'serializer' parameter is specified, or serializer is set to 'pickle' (the default unsafe behavior)
  3. Inspect cache implementation for untrusted data exposure
    Determine if the cache directory is writable by other users or processes. Check file permissions on the cache directory (e.g., ls -la for the cache path used by your application).
    Affected if Cache directory has overly permissive write access allowing untrusted users or processes to place files in it
  4. Review cache read paths in your application
    Audit your codebase to identify all locations where cache data is read. Check if any deserialization occurs without additional validation.
    Affected if Cache entries are read and deserialized without validating data integrity before deserialization

You are affected if you have python-diskcache 5.6.3 or lower and use the default pickle serializer with a cache directory that may be writable by untrusted parties.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Replace pickle serialization with a safe alternative such as JSON, or explicitly configure DiskCache to use a non-pickle serializer (e.g., json, msgpack). Audit all cache read operations to ensure no previously injected malicious objects are deserialized.

Recommended fix High confidence

python-diskcache >= 5.7.0

  1. Upgrade python-diskcache to version 5.7.0 or later using: pip install --upgrade diskcache
  2. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the installed version: pip show diskcache
  3. If using DiskCache in existing code, no code changes are required as the fix is in the default serializer
  4. After upgrading, existing cached data using the old pickle serializer can be safely deleted or re-cached using the new safer default
Caveat If your application specifically relies on pickle serialization for complex Python objects, you will need to explicitly specify the pickle serializer when creating Cache objects. The default changed to JSON for security.

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2025-69872 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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