CVE-2025-71176 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.8) CWE-379 vulnerability in pytest. A fix is available for pytest — see the affected versions and patch details below.
pytest has vulnerable tmpdir handling
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2025-71176.
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
pytestReal-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
pytest through 9.0.2 on UNIX relies on directories with the /tmp/pytest-of-{user} name pattern, which allows local users to cause a denial of service or possibly gain privileges.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | pytest | all versions | 9.0.3pip install --upgrade 'pytest==9.0.3' |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pytest, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update pytest to 9.0.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-71176 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.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
This vulnerability is rated Moderate for Red Hat products. The flaw in pytest allows a local attacker to cause a denial of service or potentially gain privileges by manipulating temporary directories in `/tmp`. This primarily affects systems where pytest is installed and executed by local users.
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2025-71176 (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images | pytest-main-9.0.3-1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:8580 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-71176 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.