Executive brief
uv is a fast Python package and project manager. In affected versions, a security flaw allows a malicious Python package (wheel) to write executable files outside of the intended installation directory during the installation process. This could allow an attacker to overwrite or shadow legitimate system commands, leading to unauthorized code execution when a user runs what they believe to be a standard command.
Technical details
A path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) exists in uv's handling of entry point specifications (console_scripts or gui_scripts) within Python distributions. When installing a malicious wheel, uv fails to sufficiently validate that the generated entry point name remains within the environment's designated scripts directory. An attacker can provide a crafted entry point name that resolves to a path outside the environment, such as a directory already in the user's PATH. This allows for the overwriting or shadowing of existing executables, resulting in arbitrary code execution when the shadowed command is invoked. The vulnerability is fixed in version 0.11.15.
Affected products
- Astral uv < 0.11.15
Timeline
- 2026-05-18: disclosed: Advisory published by Astral-sh
- 2026-05-29: advisory: GitHub Advisory published
- 2026-05-18: patched: uv version 0.11.15 released