Vulnerabilities in pkg:pypi/psutil

PACKAGE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-qfc5-mcwq-26q8
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Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-18874 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) double free vulnerability (CWE-415: Double Free) affecting Psutil libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves double free in psutil. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.6.6.

1 Known Advisory Record(s)
Package Vulnerability Intelligence

pkg:pypi/psutil

1 Known Advisory Record(s)

Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:pypi/psutil. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.

Advisory ID CVE / NVD Severity Summary
GHSA-qfc5-mcwq-26q8 CVE-2019-18874 HIGH Double Free in psutil

CVE-2019-18874 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-18874
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qfc5-mcwq-26q8
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-415: Double Free
Affected Product Psutil
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
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-2019-18874

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

psutil fixed: 5.6.6 
pip install psutil>=5.6.6
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 psutil

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2019-18874, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show psutil

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Psutil in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.6.6), your application is affected.

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

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-415: Double Free, where the product calls free() twice on the same memory address. In Psutil, 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

psutil (aka python-psutil) through 5.6.5 can have a double free. This occurs because of refcount mishandling within a while or for loop that converts system data into a Python object.

CVE-2019-18874 Affected Psutil Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.6.6
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
psutil
pypi/psutil
PyPI
< 5.6.6
5.6.6

References

NVD — CVE-2019-18874 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-18874
Psutil Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/pull/1616
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/commit/7d512c8e4442a896d56505be3e78f1156f443465
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-qfc5-mcwq-26q8
Psutil Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil
Psutil Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/blob/master/HISTORY.rst#566
Psutil Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/psutil/PYSEC-2019-41.yaml
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/11/msg00018.html
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2P7QI7MOTZTFXQYU23CP3RAWXCERMOAS
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OLETTJYZL2SMBUI4Q2NGBMGPDPP54SRG
usn.ubuntu.com/4204-1 WEB
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4204-1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-18874?
CVE-2019-18874 is a security vulnerability in Psutil involving Double Free in psutil under CWE-415: Double Free.
Which Psutil versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.6.6 across affected packages: psutil.
What version fixes CVE-2019-18874?
Upgrading to 5.6.6 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is psutil affected?
Yes, psutil is affected in releases prior to 5.6.6. Upgrade your dependency to 5.6.6 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-18874?
CVE-2019-18874 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2019-18874?
CVE-2019-18874 is classified under CWE-415: Double Free (The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2019-18874?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show psutil'. 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-qfc5-mcwq-26q8",
  "modified" : "2024-10-21T21:03:36Z",
  "published" : "2020-03-12T17:02:50Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-18874" ],
  "summary" : "Double Free in psutil",
  "details" : "psutil (aka python-psutil) through 5.6.5 can have a double free. This occurs because of refcount mishandling within a while or for loop that converts system data into a Python object.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "psutil"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.6.6"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 5.6.5"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-18874"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/pull/1616"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/commit/7d512c8e4442a896d56505be3e78f1156f443465"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-qfc5-mcwq-26q8"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/blob/master/HISTORY.rst#566"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/psutil/PYSEC-2019-41.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/11/msg00018.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2P7QI7MOTZTFXQYU23CP3RAWXCERMOAS"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OLETTJYZL2SMBUI4Q2NGBMGPDPP54SRG"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://usn.ubuntu.com/4204-1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-415" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-03-12T17:02:28Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}