CVE-2014-1938: Rply Link Following Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-m8qc-mf6p-pfq9
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-59
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2014-1938 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) link following vulnerability (CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')) affecting Rply libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves link following in rply. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.7.4.

CVE-2014-1938 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2014-1938
GHSA Identifier GHSA-m8qc-mf6p-pfq9
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
Affected Product Rply
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2014-1938

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Rply dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

rply fixed: 0.7.4 
pip install rply>=0.7.4
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show rply

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2014-1938, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show rply

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Rply in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.7.4), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show rply command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following'), where the product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource. In Rply, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

python-rply before 0.7.4 insecurely creates temporary files.

CVE-2014-1938 Affected Rply Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.7.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
rply
pypi/rply
PyPI
< 0.7.4
0.7.4

References

NVD — CVE-2014-1938 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-1938
Rply Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/alex/rply/issues/42
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/alex/rply/commit/76d268a38c627bf4aebebcd064f5b6d380eb8b20
bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.c... WEB
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=737627
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m8qc-mf6p-pfq9
Rply Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/alex/rply
Rply Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/rply/PYSEC-2019-202.yaml
Rply Security Information SECURITY
https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2014-1938
Rply Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/02/11/1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2014-1938?
CVE-2014-1938 is a security vulnerability in Rply involving Link Following in rply under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following').
Which Rply versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.7.4 across affected packages: rply.
What version fixes CVE-2014-1938?
Upgrading to 0.7.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is rply affected?
Yes, rply is affected in releases prior to 0.7.4. Upgrade your dependency to 0.7.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2014-1938?
CVE-2014-1938 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2014-1938?
CVE-2014-1938 is classified under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') (The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2014-1938?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show rply'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-m8qc-mf6p-pfq9",
  "modified" : "2024-10-26T22:44:05Z",
  "published" : "2020-03-11T20:56:34Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2014-1938" ],
  "summary" : "Link Following in rply",
  "details" : "python-rply before 0.7.4 insecurely creates temporary files.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "rply"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.7.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-1938"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/alex/rply/issues/42"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/alex/rply/commit/76d268a38c627bf4aebebcd064f5b6d380eb8b20"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=737627"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m8qc-mf6p-pfq9"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/alex/rply"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/rply/PYSEC-2019-202.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2014-1938"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/02/11/1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-59" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-03-11T20:55:50Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}