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Vulnerability record · CVE-2026-22702 · published 10 January 2026

CVE-2026-22702: Virtualenv link following vulnerability

Virtualenv · Virtualenv

virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to version 20.36.1, TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) vulnerabilities in virtualenv allow local attackers to perform symlink-based attacks on directory creation operations. An attacker with local access can exploit a race condition between directory existence checks and creation to redirect virtualenv's app_data and lock file operations to attacker-controlled locations. This issue has been patched in version 20.36.1.

4.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium EPSS 0.10% · top 99.3% CWE-59 · Link followingCWE-362 · Race condition
4.5CVSS 3.1 base score
0.10%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
1Affected product versions listed by NVD
3References
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to version 20.36.1, TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) vulnerabilities in virtualenv allow local attackers to perform symlink-based attacks on directory creation operations. An attacker with local access can exploit a race condition between directory existence checks and creation to redirect virtualenv's app_data and lock file operations to attacker-controlled locations. This issue has been patched in version 20.36.1.

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

Affected products

1 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/commit/dec4cec5d16edaf83a00a658f32d1e032661cebc Patch
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/pull/3013 Issue TrackingPatch
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/security/advisories/GHSA-597g-3phw-6986 MitigationPatchVendor Advisory

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Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

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Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2026-22702), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-28). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.