CVE-2022-35411 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-522 vulnerability in rpc-py. 5 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.
rpc.py vulnerable to Deserialization of Untrusted Data
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-35411 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
rpc-pyReal-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
rpc.py through 0.6.0 allows Remote Code Execution because an unpickle occurs when the "serializer: pickle" HTTP header is sent. In other words, although JSON (not Pickle) is the default data format, an unauthenticated client can cause the data to be processed with unpickle.
Per the maintainer, rpc.py is not designed for an API that is open to the outside world, and external requests cannot reach rpc.py in real world use.
A fix exists on the master branch. As a workaround, use the following code to turn off pickle in older versions:
del SERIALIZER_NAMES[PickleSerializer.name]
del SERIALIZER_TYPES[PickleSerializer.content_type]
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | rpc-py | ≥ 0.4.2 | No fix |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
rpc.py 0.6.0 - Remote Code Execution (RCE)
by Elias Hohl · Jul 29, 2022
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for rpc-py, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
No patched version of rpc-py has shipped for CVE-2022-35411 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
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.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-35411 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-35411. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-35411 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-35411 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.