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Low, CVSS 1.0amended

setuptools: Windows path escape via namespace_packages.txt during legacy wheel installation Description

GHSA-xmj3-9gf7-h52w

What to do

Vendor fix available. Upgrade each affected package to the fixed version on its release line (setuptools 84.1.0), redeploy, then verify what is actually installed.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

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Affected packages

  • PyPI setuptools

    Affected
    >= 38.2.2, < 84.1.0
    Fixed in
    84.1.0

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS 4.0
1.0 · CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:A/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source
EPSS
No dated EPSS signal available.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary On Windows, attacker-controlled content in a wheel's .dist-info/namespacepackages.txt can cause setuptools' legacy wheel installation path to create an init.py outside the requested destinationeggdir. The attacker can influence the destination path, but not the contents of the created file. Details Tested setuptools commit: 6ead555c5fb29bc57fe6105b1bffc163f56fd558 Relevant source: setuptools/wheel.py SHA-256: 359b7e0d5dd8c3135653abe08a8ed5dc0352eadfd7df22cb5e2b5303b7c3cafd The relevant call path is: Wheel(wheelpath).installasegg(destination) → installasegg → convertmetadata → fixnamespacepackages A wheel can provide attacker-controlled content in: <distribution.dist-info/namespacepackages.txt The namespace value is eventually used approximately as: markdown PoC The reproduction was performed entirely inside a disposable temporary directory. Layout: A synthetic wheel was created containing: demopkg-1.0.dist-info/namespacepackages.txt whose content was the absolute path of:…

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 5 · amended ·

    Amended from ghsa record GHSA-xmj3-9gf7-h52w

  2. Revision 4 · amended ·

    Amended from ghsa record GHSA-xmj3-9gf7-h52w

  3. Revision 3 · amended ·

    Reviewed OSV alias/range/CVSS4 correction; package source scopes and original publication preserved. No customer finding resolved.

  4. Revision 2 · amended ·

    Amended from osv record GHSA-xmj3-9gf7-h52w

  5. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from ghsa record GHSA-xmj3-9gf7-h52w

Agent brief

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# Patch Next advisory brief: GHSA-xmj3-9gf7-h52w

Advisory: setuptools: Windows path escape via namespace_packages.txt during legacy wheel installation Description
IDs: GHSA-xmj3-9gf7-h52w
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/ghsa-xmj3-9gf7-h52w (revision 5, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:55 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Low (CVSS 1.0)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: setuptools 84.1.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI setuptools: affected >= 38.2.2, < 84.1.0; fixed in 84.1.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show setuptools`: prints the installed version. Run with the environment that serves production active.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on setuptools.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xmj3-9gf7-h52w (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-xmj3-9gf7-h52w lists affected ranges: PyPI setuptools >=38.2.2 <84.1.0)
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-xmj3-9gf7-h52w (OSV record GHSA-xmj3-9gf7-h52w lists affected ranges: PyPI setuptools >=38.2.2 <84.1.0 (fixed))

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