CVE-2014-8991 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.2) vulnerability in pip. A fix is available for pip — see the affected versions and patch details below.
pip lack of randomness in build directory
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 1.3 through 1.5.6 allows local users to cause a denial of service (prevention of package installation) by creating a /tmp/pip-build-* file for another user.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | pip | ≥ 1.3&&< 6.0 | 6.0pip install --upgrade 'pip==6.0' |
Affected Products
solarisoraclepippypaDetection & 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 6.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2014-8991 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2014-8991 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.