CVE-2026-113722 · GHSA-c978-59m8-c77v
virtualenv: Generated POSIX console launchers interpret destination paths as shell syntax
- Risk score
- 53/100
- CVSS
- 7.8 v3.1
- Exploit chance (30 days)
- 0.2%
- Published
- 20 Oct 2026
Open in the live forecast Today's forecast
What to know
- What it is
- virtualenv 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…
- Affected
- virtualenv (pip) < 21.14.9
- Fix
- Upgrade virtualenv to 21.14.9 or later.
- Exploitation
- No known exploitation
Story map
At a glance
virtualenv: Yellow, plan it in. virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to 21.14.7, the bash activate script escapes the environment name for only one of the two passes bash makes over PS1, so a backslash in the name undoes the escaping and a name containing \$(...) runs as commands in the user's shell each time…
The flaws
- CVE-2026-113722: Generated POSIX console launchers interpret destination paths as shell syntax (CVSS 7.8 · EPSS 0%)
- CVE-2026-113725: Virtualenv bash activate runs commands from an environment name with a backslash before $ (CVSS 7.8 · EPSS 0%)
- CVE-2026-102930: Downloaded seed wheels (pip/setuptools) are not integrity-checked before use (CVSS 7.7 · EPSS 0%)
- CVE-2026-113776: Virtualenv activation scripts run code from a path that contains a placeholder name (CVSS 7.8 · EPSS 0%)
The fix
Upgrade virtualenv: 21.14.9 · 21.14.7 · 21.7.12 · 21.14.2 or later on your release line
Who is exposed: virtualenv (pip) <= 21.14.6
Where it stands
- Public proof of concept
Connects to
- Same weakness: OS command injection (CWE-78). 306 other warnings in 30 days
Why it is Yellow
- CVSS 7.8 high
- On your watchlist: PyPI
Affected packages
| Package | Ecosystem | Vulnerable | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| virtualenv | pip | < 21.14.9 | 21.14.9 |
References
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-c978-59m8-c77v
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/security/advisories/GHSA-c978-59m8-c77v
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-113722
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/pull/3417
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/commit/2519941bed33ee0d3ac99277f67913e439e476a9
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/releases/tag/21.14.9
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-c978-59m8-c77v
Original description
virtualenv 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.
Last activity 20 Oct 2026. Patch Forecast updates every hour.