Arbitrary code execution via unsafe checkpoint loading
Published May 12, 2026 · Updated May 12, 2026
Insecure deserialization in ml-engineering allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code through crafted PyTorch checkpoint files. The torch-checkpoint-shrink.py script passes each selected checkpoint file to torch.load() without weights_only=True, permitting pickle to reconstruct attacker-controlled Python objects. Exploitation requires a crafted checkpoint to reach a directory processed by the script, and resulting code runs with the script user's privileges.
Summary
What happened
Insecure deserialization in ml-engineering allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code through crafted PyTorch checkpoint files. The torch-checkpoint-shrink.py script passes each selected checkpoint file to torch.load() without weights_only=True, permitting pickle to reconstruct attacker-controlled Python objects. Exploitation requires a crafted checkpoint to reach a directory processed by the script, and resulting code runs with the script user's privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-31214
- Published
- May 12, 2026
- Updated
- May 12, 2026
- Vendor
- Unknown vendor
- Product
- Unknown product
- Classifications
- CWE-502, T1203
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 12, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 12, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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What is affected?
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Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Technologies
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