virtualenv: Deletion recovery can change a symlink target's mode

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-113724
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-10-20 20:17:19 UTC
Updated2026-10-20 20:17:19 UTC
Descriptionvirtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to 21.14.9, the safe_delete() deletion error handler responds to a failed removal by reading mode bits with os.lstat(path) and applying owner-write permission with os.chmod(path, ...), which follows a symlink. A planted link inside a read-only directory can therefore cause a victim-owned target outside the destination that is initially not writable by the invoking user to become broadly writable before the retry fails, provided that user owns the target and can change its mode. Another account can use the widened mode only if it can traverse the target's parent directories; root does not reach the demonstrated failure path, and the operation does not itself read the target. This issue is fixed in version 21.14.9.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 4.5 MEDIUM from [email protected]

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

Problem Types: CWE-59 | CWE-59 CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary4.5MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
3.1CNADECLARED4.5MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

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

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

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Pypa Virtualenv affected < 21.14.9 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/pypa/virtualenv/pull/3427 [email protected] github.com
github.com/pypa/virtualenv/commit/2bfdc0230d1b2685fedfcfe66c835b9a2ec7c440 [email protected] github.com
github.com/pypa/virtualenv/releases/tag/21.14.9 [email protected] github.com
github.com/pypa/virtualenv/security/advisories/GHSA-43mp-35q3-x3fq [email protected] github.com
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