Privilege retention via skipped supplementary-group clearing
Published Dec 8, 2023 · Updated Jul 31, 2026
Improper privilege management in CPython 3.12.0 on POSIX allows local users to retain supplementary groups in a child process. The _posixsubprocess child_exec path skipped setgroups(0, NULL) when subprocess.Popen received extra_groups=[], so exec() inherited the parent's groups. Reachability requires a privileged parent able to call setgroups; the child retains unintended file or resource access granted by those groups.
Summary
What happened
Improper privilege management in CPython 3.12.0 on POSIX allows local users to retain supplementary groups in a child process. The _posixsubprocess child_exec path skipped setgroups(0, NULL) when subprocess.Popen received extra_groups=[], so exec() inherited the parent's groups. Reachability requires a privileged parent able to call setgroups; the child retains unintended file or resource access granted by those groups.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-6507
- Published
- Dec 8, 2023
- Updated
- Jul 31, 2026
- Vendor
- Python Software Foundation
- Product
- CPython
- Classifications
- CWE-269, T1548
- Attack vector
- adjacent
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 8, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 31, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <3.12.1
- Affected versionversion=3.12.0
- Affected versionversion=3.13.0
- Affected versionversion=3.13.0a1 <3.13.0a3
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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