GHSA-2fc2-6r4j-p65h is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.5) CWE-59 vulnerability in numpy. A fix is available for numpy — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Numpy arbitrary file write via symlink attack
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
GHSA-2fc2-6r4j-p65h 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 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
numpyReal-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
(1) core/tests/test_memmap.py, (2) core/tests/test_multiarray.py, (3) f2py/f2py2e.py, and (4) lib/tests/test_io.py in NumPy before 1.8.1 allow local users to write to arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a temporary file.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | numpy | all versions | 1.8.1pip install --upgrade 'numpy==1.8.1' |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for numpy, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update numpy to 1.8.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-2fc2-6r4j-p65h 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.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-2fc2-6r4j-p65h can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-2fc2-6r4j-p65h. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-2fc2-6r4j-p65h in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-2fc2-6r4j-p65h across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.