CVE-2013-1888 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.2) CWE-59 vulnerability in pip. A fix is available for pip — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Improper Link Resolution Before File Access in pip
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
pipReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
pip before 1.3 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a file in the /tmp/pip-build temporary directory.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | pip | all versions | 1.3pip install --upgrade 'pip==1.3' |
Affected Products
fedorafedoraprojectpippypaDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pip, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update pip to 1.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2013-1888 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2013-1888 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.