Raw vector
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/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XSummary
CVE-2026-22608 is a high-severity Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs (CWE-184) vulnerability in Trailofbits Fickling. Its CVSS base score is 8.9 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 28th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-22608 is a vulnerability in Fickling, a Python pickling decompiler and static analyzer, affecting versions prior to 0.1.7. The issue arises because the ctypes and pydoc modules are not explicitly blocked during pickle scanning. This allows chaining of these modules, including pydoc.locate, to execute arbitrary code even when the scanner reports the file as LIKELY_SAFE. Published on 2026-01-10, the vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and maps to CWEs 184 (Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs) and 502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data).
A local attacker can exploit this vulnerability by supplying a specially crafted pickle file for analysis with Fickling. The attack requires low complexity and user interaction, such as a user running the scanner on the malicious file, but no special privileges. Successful exploitation results in remote code execution on the host system running Fickling, with high impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
The vulnerability has been patched in Fickling version 0.1.7. Mitigation involves updating to this version or later. Details are provided in the GitHub security advisory GHSA-5hvc-6wx8-mvv4, the release notes for v0.1.7, and the patching commit b793563e60a5e039c5837b09d7f4f6b92e6040d1.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-1686
Vulnerability Data
Fickling is a Python pickling decompiler and static analyzer. Prior to version 0.1.7, both ctypes and pydoc modules aren't explicitly blocked. Even other existing pickle scanning tools (like picklescan) do not block pydoc.locate. Chaining these two together can achieve RCE…
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while the scanner still reports the file as LIKELY_SAFE. This issue has been patched in version 0.1.7.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 2 hardening rules · 1 OS baseline
V3.5.2V4.4.2V16.2.5
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can uncover deserialization flaws before deployment.
SI-10 requires validity checks on inputs, which structurally replaces incomplete deny-lists with complete allow-list or sanitization logic.
Engineering principles such as safe deserialization and input sanitization structurally prevent the weakness from being introduced.
Integrity verification tools can detect malformed or tampered serialized data after the fact.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly require complete, positive input validation instead of incomplete denylists.
PR.PS-02 addresses only post-deployment updates/patching and cannot prevent introduction of unsafe deserialization code, yet it can remediate some instances when the flaw exists in outdated libraries or components.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing can discover missing input checks, but does not prevent the weakness during development.
Application security requirements can mandate complete input validation rules, but the control itself does not prescribe how to build those rules.
Secure architecture principles include robust input validation design, yet the control is broader than this single weakness.
Secure coding standards directly require exhaustive allow-lists or complete deny-lists for inputs, addressing the root cause of incomplete disallowed-input lists.
Regular scanning of third-party libraries and timely patching reduce the likelihood that unsafe deserialization vulnerabilities remain active.
Mandatory malware scanning of data received over networks or storage media intercepts malicious serialized payloads before they are deserialized by the target application.