virtualenv: Generated POSIX console launchers interpret destination paths as shell syntax

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-113722
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-10-20 20:17:18 UTC
Updated2026-10-20 20:17:18 UTC
Descriptionvirtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to 21.14.9, virtualenv's ScriptMakerCustom and pip pass an incompletely quoted interpreter path to distlib ScriptMaker when generating POSIX console scripts. When the path contains a space or produces a shebang longer than 127 bytes, distlib emits a /bin/sh wrapper whose double-quoted interpreter path still expands command substitutions and backticks. An attacker who influences the environment destination can therefore execute commands with the user's privileges when the user later runs a generated launcher; environment creation and activation do not trigger the command. Existing launchers are not repaired by upgrading virtualenv alone and must be regenerated, while a later independent pip installation or upgrade can reintroduce an affected launcher because pip's vendored distlib is unchanged. The virtualenv fix is released in version 21.14.9.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.8 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Problem Types: CWE-78 | CWE-78 CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary7.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
3.1CNADECLARED7.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Pypa Virtualenv affected < 21.14.9 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/pypa/virtualenv/security/advisories/GHSA-c978-59m8-c77v [email protected] github.com
github.com/pypa/virtualenv/commit/2519941bed33ee0d3ac99277f67913e439e476a9 [email protected] github.com
github.com/pypa/virtualenv/releases/tag/21.14.9 [email protected] github.com
github.com/pypa/virtualenv/pull/3417 [email protected] github.com
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