Skip to content
CVE PROGRAM SOURCE RECORD7.8 High

CVE-2026-113776

virtualenv activation scripts run code from a path that contains a placeholder name

Description

virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. From 20.26.6 until 21.14.2, ViaTemplateActivator.instantiate_template() replaces placeholders one key at a time across the complete activation template, so trigger names such as __VIRTUAL_NAME__, __VIRTUAL_ENV__, or __VIRTUAL_PROMPT__ inside an already substituted and quoted environment path or prompt can be replaced during a later pass. The later value's quoting can close the earlier literal and execute the remaining path when a user activates the environment through bash, fish, xonsh, or activate_this.py. The distinct csh prompt-display token __VIRTUAL_PROMPT_DISPLAY_TCSH__ can instead break the generated script without establishing command execution. The attacker must influence the destination path or --prompt, and a value without a relevant placeholder name does not trigger this mechanism. This issue is fixed in version 21.14.2.

Affected products

Version statuses are supplied by the assigning organization. Consult the original record for detailed ranges and platform conditions.

pypa virtualenv

  • >= 20.26.6, < 21.14.2affected

References