CVE-2025-47273: Setuptools Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-5rjg-fvgr-3xxf
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CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-47273 is a HIGH path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Setuptools libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves setuptools has a path traversal vulnerability in packageindex.download that leads to arbitrary file write. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 78.1.1.

CVE-2025-47273 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-47273
GHSA Identifier GHSA-5rjg-fvgr-3xxf
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product Setuptools
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2025-47273

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

setuptools fixed: 78.1.1 
pip install setuptools>=78.1.1
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 setuptools

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2025-47273, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show setuptools

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Setuptools in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 78.1.1), your application is affected.

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

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'), where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. In Setuptools, 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

### Summary A path traversal vulnerability in `PackageIndex` was fixed in setuptools version 78.1.1 ### Details ``` def _download_url(self, url, tmpdir): # Determine download filename # name, _fragment = egg_info_for_url(url) if name: while '..' in name: name = name.replace('..', '.').replace('\\', '_') else: name = "__downloaded__" # default if URL has no path contents if name.endswith('.[egg.zip](http://egg.zip/)'): name = name[:-4] # strip the extra .zip before download --> filename = os.path.join(tmpdir, name) ``` Here: https://github.com/pypa/setuptools/blob/6ead555c5fb29bc57fe6105b1bffc163f56fd558/setuptools/package_index.py#L810C1-L825C88 `os.path.join()` discards the first argument `tmpdir` if the second begins with a slash or drive letter. `name` is derived from a URL without sufficient sanitization. While there is some attempt to sanitize by replacing instances of '..' with '.', it is insufficient. ### Risk Assessment As easy_install and package_index are deprecated, the exploitation surface is reduced. However, it seems this could be exploited in a similar fashion like https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-r9hx-vwmv-q579, and as described by POC 4 in https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-cx63-2mw6-8hw5 report: via malicious URLs present on the pages of a package index. ### Impact An attacker would be allowed to write files to arbitrary locations on the filesystem with the permissions of the process running the Python code, which could escalate to RCE depending on the context. ### References https://huntr.com/bounties/d6362117-ad57-4e83-951f-b8141c6e7ca5 https://github.com/pypa/setuptools/issues/4946

CVE-2025-47273 Affected Setuptools Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
78.1.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
setuptools
pypi/setuptools
PyPI
< 78.1.1
78.1.1

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/pypa/setuptools/security/advisories/GHSA-5rjg-fvgr-3xxf
NVD — CVE-2025-47273 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-47273
Setuptools Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/setuptools/issues/4946
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/pypa/setuptools/commit/250a6d17978f9f6ac3ac887091f2d32886fbbb0b
Setuptools Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/setuptools/PYSEC-2025-49.yaml
Setuptools Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/setuptools
Setuptools Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/setuptools/blob/6ead555c5fb29bc57fe6105b1bffc163f56fd558/setuptools/package_index.py#L810C1-L825C88
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00035.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-47273?
CVE-2025-47273 is a security vulnerability in Setuptools involving setuptools has a path traversal vulnerability in PackageIndex.download that leads to Arbitrary File Write under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Setuptools versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 78.1.1 across affected packages: setuptools.
What version fixes CVE-2025-47273?
Upgrading to 78.1.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is setuptools affected?
Yes, setuptools is affected in releases prior to 78.1.1. Upgrade your dependency to 78.1.1 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-47273?
CVE-2025-47273 is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2025-47273?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show setuptools'. 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-5rjg-fvgr-3xxf",
  "modified" : "2025-06-13T04:13:22Z",
  "published" : "2025-05-19T16:52:43Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-47273" ],
  "summary" : "setuptools has a path traversal vulnerability in PackageIndex.download that leads to Arbitrary File Write",
  "details" : "### Summary \nA path traversal vulnerability in `PackageIndex` was fixed in setuptools version 78.1.1\n\n### Details\n```\n    def _download_url(self, url, tmpdir):\n        # Determine download filename\n        #\n        name, _fragment = egg_info_for_url(url)\n        if name:\n            while '..' in name:\n                name = name.replace('..', '.').replace('\\\\', '_')\n        else:\n            name = \"__downloaded__\"  # default if URL has no path contents\n\n        if name.endswith('.[egg.zip](http://egg.zip/)'):\n            name = name[:-4]  # strip the extra .zip before download\n\n -->       filename = os.path.join(tmpdir, name)\n```\n\nHere: https://github.com/pypa/setuptools/blob/6ead555c5fb29bc57fe6105b1bffc163f56fd558/setuptools/package_index.py#L810C1-L825C88\n\n`os.path.join()` discards the first argument `tmpdir` if the second begins with a slash or drive letter.\n`name` is derived from a URL without sufficient sanitization. While there is some attempt to sanitize by replacing instances of '..' with '.', it is insufficient.\n\n### Risk Assessment\nAs easy_install and package_index are deprecated, the exploitation surface is reduced.\nHowever, it seems this could be exploited in a similar fashion like https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-r9hx-vwmv-q579, and as described by POC 4 in https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-cx63-2mw6-8hw5 report: via malicious URLs present on the pages of a package index.\n\n### Impact\nAn attacker would be allowed to write files to arbitrary locations on the filesystem with the permissions of the process running the Python code, which could escalate to RCE depending on the context.\n\n### References\nhttps://huntr.com/bounties/d6362117-ad57-4e83-951f-b8141c6e7ca5\nhttps://github.com/pypa/setuptools/issues/4946",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
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    },
    "ranges" : [ {
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    } ]
  } ],
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  }, {
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/setuptools/commit/250a6d17978f9f6ac3ac887091f2d32886fbbb0b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/setuptools/PYSEC-2025-49.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/setuptools"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/setuptools/blob/6ead555c5fb29bc57fe6105b1bffc163f56fd558/setuptools/package_index.py#L810C1-L825C88"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00035.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-05-19T16:52:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-05-17T16:15:19Z"
  }
}