CVE-2026-54055: CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') in kovidgoyal kitty
Kitty terminal versions prior to 0.47.2 contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability due to a race condition in the file transmission protocol. A child process can exploit a time-of-check-time-of-use (TOCTOU) flaw where symlink validation is bypassed, allowing writes to arbitrary filesystem locations. This occurs because the file creation call does not use the O_NOFOLLOW flag, enabling symlink following after the initial check. The issue is fixed in version 0.47.2.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
CVE-2026-54055 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the kitty terminal emulator before version 0.47.2. The vulnerability arises from a TOCTOU race condition in the file transmission protocol where a child process can write to arbitrary files by exploiting the lack of the O_NOFOLLOW flag in the os.open() call. This allows an attacker to create a symlink between the symlink validation (stat check) and the actual file open operation, causing the write to follow the symlink to an unintended location. The flaw is addressed in kitty version 0.47.2.
Potential Impact
An attacker with local access and the ability to run a child process in the kitty terminal can escalate privileges by writing to arbitrary files on the filesystem. This can lead to unauthorized modification of files, potentially compromising system integrity. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality but has a high impact on integrity and a low impact on availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade kitty to version 0.47.2 or later, where this vulnerability is fixed by properly handling symlink resolution using the O_NOFOLLOW flag during file creation. No other mitigations are specified. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed in the vendor advisory, but the fix is stated to be in version 0.47.2.
CVE-2026-54055: CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') in kovidgoyal kitty
Description
Kitty terminal versions prior to 0.47.2 contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability due to a race condition in the file transmission protocol. A child process can exploit a time-of-check-time-of-use (TOCTOU) flaw where symlink validation is bypassed, allowing writes to arbitrary filesystem locations. This occurs because the file creation call does not use the O_NOFOLLOW flag, enabling symlink following after the initial check. The issue is fixed in version 0.47.2.
CVSS v3.1
Score 5.0medium
Affected software
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AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-54055 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the kitty terminal emulator before version 0.47.2. The vulnerability arises from a TOCTOU race condition in the file transmission protocol where a child process can write to arbitrary files by exploiting the lack of the O_NOFOLLOW flag in the os.open() call. This allows an attacker to create a symlink between the symlink validation (stat check) and the actual file open operation, causing the write to follow the symlink to an unintended location. The flaw is addressed in kitty version 0.47.2.
Potential Impact
An attacker with local access and the ability to run a child process in the kitty terminal can escalate privileges by writing to arbitrary files on the filesystem. This can lead to unauthorized modification of files, potentially compromising system integrity. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality but has a high impact on integrity and a low impact on availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade kitty to version 0.47.2 or later, where this vulnerability is fixed by properly handling symlink resolution using the O_NOFOLLOW flag during file creation. No other mitigations are specified. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed in the vendor advisory, but the fix is stated to be in version 0.47.2.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- GitHub_M
- Date Reserved
- 2026-06-11T18:24:35.096Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a2c6778e617e2d834bac521
Added to database: 6/12/2026, 8:09:28 PM
Last enriched: 6/12/2026, 8:24:26 PM
Last updated: 6/12/2026, 9:21:03 PM
Views: 4
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