Security Digest · Vulnerability record
CVE-2023-47248: PyArrow: Arbitrary code execution when loading a malicious data file
Deserialization of untrusted data in IPC and Parquet readers in PyArrow versions 0.14.0 to 14.0.0 allows arbitrary code execution.
CVSS 9.3 Critical EPSS 14.5% · p97
Should you act?
High exploit likelihood
EPSS ranks it in the top 5% of all CVEs for likely exploitation in the next 30 days. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.
- No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
- EPSS 14.5%, percentile 97: FIRST’s model estimates a 14.5% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 97% of all scored CVEs (very high). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
- Only applies if your dependency tree includes
pyarrow(PyPI) >= 0.14.0, < 14.0.1, fixed in 14.0.1. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.
What it is
Deserialization of untrusted data in IPC and Parquet readers in PyArrow versions 0.14.0 to 14.0.0 allows arbitrary code execution. An application is vulnerable if it reads Arrow IPC, Feather or Parquet data from untrusted sources (for example user-supplied input files). This vulnerability only affects PyArrow, not other Apache Arrow implementations or bindings. It is recommended that users of PyArrow upgrade to 14.0.1. Similarly, it is recommended that downstream libraries upgrade their dependency requirements to PyArrow 14.0.1 or later. PyPI packages are already available, and we hope that conda-forge packages will be available soon. If it is not possible to upgrade, we provide a separate package pyarrow-hotfix that disables the vulnerability on older PyArrow versions. See https://pypi.org/project/pyarrow-hotfix/ for instructions.
From the GitHub advisory
Deserialization of untrusted data in IPC and Parquet readers in PyArrow versions 0.14.0 to 14.0.0 allows arbitrary code execution. An application is vulnerable if it reads Arrow IPC, Feather or Parquet data from untrusted sources (for example user-supplied input files).
This vulnerability only affects PyArrow, not other Apache Arrow implementations or bindings.
It is recommended that users of PyArrow upgrade to 14.0.1. Similarly, it is recommended that downstream libraries upgrade their dependency requirements to PyArrow 14.0.1 or later. PyPI packages are already available, and we hope that conda-forge packages will be available soon.
If it is not possible to upgrade, maintainers provide a separate package pyarrow-hotfix that disables the vulnerability on older PyArrow versions. See https://pypi.org/project/pyarrow-hotfix/ for instructions.
Weakness type: CWE-502.
Product: pyarrow (PyPI) · Assigned by: apache · Published: 2023-11-09
Affected and fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable | First fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| PyPI | pyarrow | >= 0.14.0, < 14.0.1 | 14.0.1 |
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions (per CVE record) |
|---|---|---|
| Apache Software Foundation | PyArrow | 0.14.0 <= 14.0.0 |
| Apache Software Foundation | PyArrow | 0.14.0 <= 14.0.0 |
Severity scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub | 4.0 | 9.3 | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
- Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
- Attack complexity: low
- Attack requirements: none
- Privileges required: none (no login)
- User interaction: none
CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.
Exploitation and urgency
- CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 14.53% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 97.
Timeline
- — CVE record published by apache
- — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-5wvp-7f3h-6wmm published (critical)
- — CVE record last updated
Sources and references
Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.
Vendor and project advisories, patches
- lists.apache.org lists.apache.org
- github.com github.com
- pypi.org pypi.org
Vulnerability records
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-5wvp-7f3h-6wmm github.com
- CVE.org record CVE-2023-47248 cve.org
- NVD entry CVE-2023-47248 nvd.nist.gov
Other references from the CVE record and advisory
- lists.fedoraproject.org lists.fedoraproject.org
- lists.fedoraproject.org lists.fedoraproject.org
- lists.fedoraproject.org lists.fedoraproject.org
- github.com github.com
- openwall.com openwall.com