CVE-2026-81377: CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Description
Improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory ('path traversal') in Visual Studio Code allows an unauthorized attacker to perform tampering over a network.
CVSS v3.1
Score 6.5medium
Affected software
Microsoft
Visual Studio Code
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Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-81377 is a CWE-22 path traversal vulnerability in Microsoft Visual Studio Code. It allows an attacker with network access and user interaction to bypass pathname restrictions and perform unauthorized tampering. The vulnerability affects versions >=1.0.0 and <1.136.2. Microsoft has published an official fix for this issue.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability enables an attacker to tamper with files or resources by exploiting improper pathname restrictions, potentially modifying data or configurations without authorization. There is no impact on confidentiality or availability reported. Exploitation requires user interaction but no privileges.
Mitigation Recommendations
An official fix is available from Microsoft. Users should update Visual Studio Code to version 1.136.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Refer to the Microsoft advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-81377 for detailed patch information.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- microsoft
- Date Reserved
- 2026-08-26T18:46:26.214Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- official-fix
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-81377","vendor":"Microsoft"}]
Threat ID: 6aa0456dacd9273b49fafe2c
Added to database: 09/08/2026, 17:27:09 UTC
Last enriched: 10/14/2026, 22:06:27 UTC
Last updated: 10/23/2026, 15:10:15 UTC
Views: 39
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