How severe is CVE-2023-6597?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2023-6597 known to be exploited?

2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Vulnerability in Python Software Foundation Cpython

CVE-2023-6597

An issue was found in the CPython `tempfile.TemporaryDirectory` class affecting versions 3.12.1, 3.11.7, 3.10.13, 3.9.18, and 3.8.18 and prior. The tempfile.TemporaryDirectory class would dereference symlinks during cleanup of permissions-related errors. This means users which can run privileged programs are potentially able to modify permissions of files referenced by symlinks in some circumstances.

Published 2024-03-19 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (21.9th percentile), scored 2026-10-02.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 22nd percentile — 21.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Python Software Foundation Cpython — versions 0, 3.9.0, 3.10.0

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-6597?: CVE-2023-6597 is a high-severity vulnerability in Python Software Foundation Cpython. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2024-03-19.
How severe is CVE-2023-6597?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2023-6597 known to be exploited?: 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.