CVE-2026-22702 | virtualenv Has TOCTOU Vulnerabilities in Directory Creation

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.

Published: 2026-01-10 Last update: 2026-02-18 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-22702 is rated Low Risk (18.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.01%). Low composite risk—no urgent action required; patch on your normal maintenance cycle and revisit priority if CVSS or EPSS increases.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-22702

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-01-10 — 0.01% —

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-22702

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 1.0 3.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-22702

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-22702

GHSA-597g-3phw-6986 · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: pip — virtualenv Has TOCTOU Vulnerabilities in Directory Creation

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-22702

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-22702 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (python-virtualenv), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 3, resolved 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-22702
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-22702
suse medium — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-22702/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-22702 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (python-virtualenv), 9 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): needs-triage 7, ignored 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-22702

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-22702

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
virtualenv virtualenv < 20.36.1 cpe:2.3:a:virtualenv:virtualenv:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-22702

cvelogic Threat Intelligence