RestrictedPython: Running Potentially Risky Python Code in a Trusted Environment
Discover RestrictedPython: A tool for securely running untrusted Python code in trusted environments by limiting features and customizing security policies.
Python is renowned for its ease of use and powerful capabilities, but this also comes with security risks. Running code from untrusted sources directly is highly risky.
RestrictedPython was developed to address this issue, providing a way to execute Python code in a secure, restricted environment while balancing functionality and safety to minimize potential threats.
What is RestrictedPython?
RestrictedPython is not a sandbox system or a security environment. Instead, it is a tool that allows defining a subset of the Python language to execute untrusted code in a trusted environment. It achieves secure execution by limiting certain Python features (e.g., file system access, network access, and module imports).
This enables developers to offer a degree of flexibility while effectively controlling the code execution scope, preventing malicious code from harming the system. RestrictedPython implements its security strategies at the bytecode level rather than through runtime checks, ensuring greater efficiency and lower runtime overhead.