Home/CVE/In Python 3.6 through 3.6.10, 3.7 through 3.7.8, 3.8 through 3.8.4rc1, and 3.9 through 3.9.0b4 on Windows, a Trojan hors
CVE

CVE-2020-15523

In Python 3.6 through 3.6.10, 3.7 through 3.7.8, 3.8 through 3.8.4rc1, and 3.9 through 3.9.0b4 on Windows, a Trojan hors

In Python 3.6 through 3.6.10, 3.7 through 3.7.8, 3.8 through 3.8.4rc1, and 3.9 through 3.9.0b4 on Windows, a Trojan horse python3.dll might be used in cases where CPython is embedded in a native application. This occurs because python3X.dll may use an invalid search path for python3.dll loading (after Py_SetPath has been used). NOTE: this issue CANNOT occur when using python.exe from a standard (non-embedded) Python installation on Windows.

HIGH · CVSS 7.8 EPSS 0.00085
Schedule remediation
  • CVSS base score ≥ 7.0
Sigma rules15 YARA rules0
⬡

Weakness Classification

CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path Element
CWE-908Use of Uninitialized Resource
▤

Affected Products & Versions

6
python>= 3.5.0 and < 3.5.10
python>= 3.6.0 and < 3.6.12
python>= 3.7.0 and < 3.7.9
python>= 3.8.0 and < 3.8.4
pythonall versions
netapp snapcenterall versions
◈

Sigma Hunt Rules

15
Exact rules name this CVE ID. Product rules name an affected product in their title. Related rules cover techniques used by actors who exploited this CVE. Showing the most relevant matches; the complete related set is on the full drill-down.
producthighPython Reverse Shell Execution Via PTY And Socket Modules
producthighInline Python Execution - Spawn Shell Via OS System Library
producthighPython One-Liners with Base64 Decoding - Linux
producthighPython Function Execution Security Warning Disabled In Excel
producthighPython One-Liners with Base64 Decoding
producthighPython Spawning Pretty TTY on Windows
▣

Scoring & Timeline

7.8
HIGH · CVSS v3.1 · cve@mitre.org
View on NVD
Attack Vector
Network Adjacent Local Physical
Attack Complexity
Low High
Privileges Required
None Low High
User Interaction
None Required
Scope
Unchanged Changed
Confidentiality
None Low High
Integrity
None Low High
Availability
None Low High
Published to NVD04 Jul 2020 · 11:15 PM
CVSS VectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
⚑

Vendor Advisories

12
suse-csafopenSUSE-SU-2025:15713-1
suse-csafSUSE-SU-2025:20492-1
suse-csafSUSE-SU-2025:20154-1
suse-csafSUSE-SU-2025:20025-1
suse-csafopenSUSE-SU-2024:14434-1
🔗

References & Sources

3
Source URLs (vendor pages, mailing lists, write-ups). Exploit/PoC links are in their own section above to avoid duplication.
https://bugs.python.org/issue29778Issue TrackingPatchVendor Advisory
https://github.com/python/cpython/pull/21297PatchThird Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210312-0004/Issue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
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