CVE Intelligence
Critical File handling exploit reference

CVE-2019-9948 — urllib in Python 2.x through 2.7.16 supports the local_file: scheme, which makes it easier for...

urllib in Python 2.x through 2.7.16 supports the local_file: scheme, which makes it easier for remote attackers to bypass protection mechanisms that blacklist file: URIs, as demonstrated by triggering a urllib.urlopen('local_file:///etc/passwd') call.

Published Mar 23, 2019 · Updated Oct 14, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: mitre

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 11.8% (30-day exploitation probability)+14
  • Technical severity (critical)+10

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
11.84%
ahead of 96% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Canonical
Ubuntu Linux and 10 more
CVSS base
9.1
Critical · 4 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora…).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  4. EPSS ahead of 96% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  5. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (file handling), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Canonical Ubuntu Linux version 12.04version 14.04version 16.04version 18.04version 19.04 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Debian Debian Linux version 8.0version 9.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Fedoraproject Fedora version 30version 29 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Opensuse Leap version 42.3version 15.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Python Python ≥ 3.7.0 and < 3.7.4≥ 3.6.0 and < 3.6.9≥ 3.5.0 and < 3.5.8≥ 2.0 and < 2.7.17 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop version 8.0version 7.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Eus version 8.6version 8.4version 8.2version 8.1 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server version 7.0version 8.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Eus version 8.4 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Tus version 8.2version 8.4version 8.6 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation version 7.0version 8.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
9.1 CVSS 3.1 Critical 3.9 5.2 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
9.1 CVSS 3.1 Critical 3.9 5.2 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
9.1 CVSS 3.1 Critical — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
9.1 CVSS 3.1 Critical — — CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
6.4 CVSS 2.0 Medium 10.0 4.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-22 · Path Traversal

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 11.84%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Monitor file creation in web directories and paths with traversal sequences (../).
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSfile integrity (FIM)endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 9.1
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • 2019
  • CVE published
    Mar 23, 2019 · mitre

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

33 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Canonical
every CVE for this vendor
File handling
same class
CWE-22
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-42169 Gimp: gimp apng loader heap-buffer-overflow when fctl width exceeds ihdr width (file-png.c) Aug 4, 2026
  • CVE-2026-12996 A use-after-free in OpenVPN 2.6.0 through 2.6.20 and 2.7_alpha1 through 2.7.4 allows remote... Jul 30, 2026
  • CVE-2026-15308 Incremental HTMLParser feed() allows CPU-exhaustion DoS via repeated unterminated markup declarations Jul 9, 2026
  • CVE-2026-14355 ext/openssl: Memory corruption in openssl_encrypt with AES-WRAP-PAD Jul 3, 2026
  • CVE-2026-4360 Tarfile.extract() doesn't fully respect filter parameter Jun 30, 2026
  • CVE-2026-0864 Configuration Injection via Carriage Return (\r) in write() method Jun 23, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2019-9948 is "urllib in Python 2.x through 2.7.16 supports the local_file: scheme, which makes it easier for...", rated Critical. It affects Ubuntu Linux (Canonical); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 9.1 describes technical severity. EPSS 11.84% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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