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Pip Error

Updated May 04, 2025 ·

AttributeError when checking Pip3 Version​

I encountered this issue when trying to check the Python3 and Pip3 version installed in my WSL2 Ubuntu:

$ python3 --version
Python 3.8.10 

$ pip3 --version
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/bin/pip3", line 11, in <module>
    load_entry_point('pip==20.0.2', 'console_scripts', 'pip3')()
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/pkg_resources/__init__.py", line   490, in load_entry_point
  
  ......

The specific error was:

AttributeError: module 'lib' has no attribute 'X509_V_FLAG_NOTIFY_POLICY'

This error comes from the pyOpenSSL library and indicates a mismatch between the pyOpenSSL Python package and the underlying libssl C library.

Problem: Likely due to conflicting or outdated system packages in the WSL Ubuntu environment. This is causing pip3 to crash with an AttributeError.

Solution: Reinstall pip using get-pip.py.

  1. Remove broken pip.

    sudo apt remove python3-pip -y

  2. Manually install pip via get-pip.py. Note that you might encounter an issue if you're running a different Python3 version.

    curl -sS https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py
    python3 get-pip.py --user

    For example, I was running Python 3.8 but the script above is specific to Python 3.9. As a workaround, download the script for your Python version.

    curl -O https://bootstrap.pypa.io/pip/3.8/get-pip.py
    python3 get-pip.py --user

  3. Ensure ~/.local/bin is in your PATH.

    echo 'export PATH=$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
    source ~/.bashrc

  4. Verify pip works.

    pip3 --version