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CVE-2026-22702

virtualenv Has TOCTOU Vulnerabilities in Directory Creation

Published: Jan 10, 2026Updated: Feb 18, 2026 Sources: CVE List NVD GHSACWE-59
NVD MITRE
4.5CVSSMEDIUM
EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 99.6%
CISA KEV
Not in KEV
Exploits
No Known Exploits
Remediation
Patch Available

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 Vector Breakdown

AV:LAC:HPR:LUI:NS:UC:LI:LA:L
Exploitability
AV:LAttack Vector
Local
AC:HAttack Complexity
High
PR:LPrivileges Required
Low
UI:NUser Interaction
None
Scope
S:UScope
Unchanged
Impact
C:LConfidentiality
Low
I:LIntegrity
Low
A:LAvailability
Low
Open in CVSS calculator →

Weaknesses

CWE-59CWE-362

Affected Products

virtualenvvirtualenv
Library
OSS Libraries / pypi
virtualenvPyPIOSS Libraries
virtualenvpypa
Library
OSS Libraries / pypi
virtualenvoss-projectOSS Librariesaka virtualenv.org
pypipackage-ecosystemOSS Libraries
pypaoss-projectOSS Librariesaka pip, pipenv, pypa/setuptools

Attack Graph

Products CVE Techniques Tactics

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Exploitability

Official Patch Available
Workaround Available

MITRE ATT&CK

3 techniques
Collection
Discovery
Privilege Escalation
View detailed technique mapping

References

https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/commit/dec4cec5d16edaf83a00a658f32d1e032661cebc
github.com
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/pull/3013
github.com
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/security/advisories/GHSA-597g-3phw-6986
github.com
and 2 more references View all →

Timeline

Published
Jan 10, 2026
Last Updated
Feb 18, 2026

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