A pip security update has been released for Ubuntu Linux 18.04 LTS.

USN-4601-1: pip vulnerability

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Ubuntu Security Notice USN-4601-1
October 22, 2020

python-pip vulnerability
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A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives:

- Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

Summary:

pip could be made to overwrite files as the administrator.

Software Description:
- python-pip: Python package installer

Details:

It was discovered that pip did not properly sanitize the filename during
pip install. A remote attacker could possible use this issue to read and
write arbitrary files on the host filesystem as root, resulting in a
directory traversal attack. (CVE-2019-20916)

Update instructions:

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following
package versions:

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS:
python-pip 9.0.1-2.3~ubuntu1.18.04.4
python3-pip 9.0.1-2.3~ubuntu1.18.04.4

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.

References:
  https://usn.ubuntu.com/4601-1
CVE-2019-20916

Package Information:
  https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/python-pip/9.0.1-2.3~ubuntu1.18.04.4