ReversingLabs researchers have sounded the alarm over a vulnerability lurking in legacy Python packages one that exposes users of the Python Package Index (PyPI) to supply chain attacks through domain compromise.
Although the vulnerable code is rarely used in modern projects, its persistence in outdated production systems keeps the risk alive.
The RL Spectra Assure Community’s machine learning models trained to sniff out package behaviors that resemble known malware flagged risky bootstrap files distributed with several PyPI packages.
These scripts automate the fetching and installation of Python dependencies, notably by grabbing the installer for the long-obsolete distribute package directly from the domain python-distribute.org.
Critically, this domain is no longer managed by the Python community and is now up for sale, parked for ad revenue. Were an attacker to purchase it, they could host and deliver malicious scripts to any developer running the affected bootstrapping files.
Popular packages with historical or present links to these scripts include Tornado (asynchronous networking), pypiserver (private PyPI servers), and slapos.core (distributed OS overlays), roman (numeral conversion), xlutils (Excel file editing), testfixtures (unit testing), and many others.
Some, like pypiserver, have removed the scripts only recently; in others, remnants may still linger through automation files like Makefiles. The danger lies dormant, triggered only if a user or build system executes the legacy bootstrap routine.
Roots of Python’s Packaging Problem
According to report, Packaging and dependency resolution have always been at the heart of open-source Python development.
In its early days, Python provided distutils (now removed as of Python 3.12), but as needs outgrew its capabilities, tools like setuptools emerged. Distribute quickly splintered from setuptools due to development disputes, but rejoined by 2013.
Meanwhile, attempts to modernize, such as the abandoned distutils2, left the ecosystem with a tangle of solutions each trying (and sometimes failing) to be compatible.
The result? Bootstrap scripts proliferated to ease installation, often hardcoding URLs to fetch dependencies.
Without community oversight or timely migration, domains eventually lapsed. The python-distribute.org domain example demonstrates the risk: since 2014, it’s been up for grabs, with nobody officially monitoring its use or ownership.
Domain takeovers are a known attack vector. A dramatic example occurred in 2023, when the npm package fsevents fell prey to a similar scheme: an attacker registered a lapsed cloud domain previously hardcoded in versions 1.0.0 to 1.2.11, allowing them to deliver malicious payloads a vulnerability documented as CVE-2023-45311.
RL researchers showed a proof-of-concept exploit for the Python scenario, specifically targeting slapos.core’s bootstrap script.
While PyPI now defaults to safer practices and most developers have migrated to setuptools, remnants of the vulnerable pattern remain widely distributed and could present a realistic risk if the old domain ends up in malicious hands.
The Broader Supply Chain Risk
The open-source model thrives on code sharing, but as this case shows, hardcoded domains remain a hidden pitfall.
Python module imp is used to load the source as a module, with the flag -d set before calling it to make the bootstrap script use distribute.
When old dependencies or tools reach end-of-life, failing to retire related infrastructure or ensure migration exposes users to silent, yet severe, threats.
For PyPI, while no proven abuse has been documented for python-distribute.org, history suggests vigilance is warranted especially as attackers become more opportunistic with supply chain exploits.
Legacy code and abandoned infrastructure pose an ever-present danger to software supply chains.
Open-source maintainers and users must regularly audit dependencies for outdated domains and bootstrap routines and aggressively migrate away from deprecated practices to prevent domain compromise attacks.
The python-distribute.org episode is a cautionary tale a call to action for all developers to guard against the ghosts of legacy code haunting the modern ecosystem.
Indicators of Compromise (IoCs)
| Package Name | Version Range |
|---|---|
| pypiserver | >=1.1.1, <2.4.0 |
| slapos.core | >=0, <=1.19.0 |
| roman | >=2.0.0, <3.2 |
| xlutils | >=1.6.0, <2.0.0 |
| testfixtures | >=2.3.4, <3.0.2 |
| imio-pm-locales | >=4.1.18.1, <4.2.20 |
| pyquery | >=1.2.10, <2.0.0 |
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