Harden `pickle.load()` against deserialization attacks
pixee:python/harden-pickle-load​
| Importance | Review Guidance | Requires Scanning Tool |
|---|---|---|
| High | Merge After Cursory Review | No |
Python's pickle module is notoriouly insecure. While it is very useful for serializing and deserializing Python objects, it is not safe to use pickle to load data from untrusted sources. This is because pickle can execute arbitrary code when loading data. This can be exploited by an attacker to execute arbitrary code on your system. Unlike yaml there is no concept of a "safe" loader in pickle. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid pickle and to use a different serialization format such as json or yaml when working with untrusted data.
However, if you must use pickle to load data from an untrusted source, we recommend using the open-source fickling library. fickling is a drop-in replacement for pickle that validates the data before loading it and checks for the possibility of code execution. This makes it much safer (although still not entirely safe) to use pickle to load data from untrusted sources.
This codemod replaces calls to pickle.load with fickling.load in Python code. It also adds an import statement for fickling if it is not already present.
The changes look like the following:
- import pickle
+ import fickling
- data = pickle.load(file)
+ data = fickling.load(file)
If you have feedback on this codemod, please let us know!
F.A.Q.​
Why is this codemod marked as Merge After Cursory Review?​
This change may impact performance in some cases, but it is recommended when handling untrusted data.
Codemod Settings​
N/A