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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-113716: virtualenv · Builtin creation follows linked environment directories

Affects hatchSource GCVE Database

0
Authoritative record:CVE-2026-113716· Medium 4.5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.5 Medium : upgrade to 1.18.1_2 or 1.6.2 when convenient.

Data as of 27 Oct 2026, 23:27 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
4.5Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
Patch
Available – fixed in 1.18.1_2, 1.6.2
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 20 Oct 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade hatch to 1.18.1_2 or 1.6.2.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Homebrewhatchpkg:brew/hatchOther threatsAffected
  • >=1.2.0 <1.6.2
  • >=1.9.3 <1.18.1_2
Fixed in
  • 1.6.2
  • 1.18.1_2

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

A fix is available in virtualenv versions 1.6.2 and 1.18.1_2 and later. Users should upgrade to these versions or newer to mitigate this vulnerability. The vendor advisory confirms patch availability. No additional action is required if patched. If upgrading is not immediately possible, avoid creating virtual environments in directories that contain attacker-controlled symlinks.

Description

A vulnerability in the builtin creator of virtualenv allows directory symlinks to be followed during environment creation, enabling writes outside the intended destination directory. An attacker who can prepare linked directories under the target path can cause files such as executables and activation scripts to be written to locations like ~/.local/bin. This can lead to code execution when the user runs commands from the affected PATH. The issue affects virtualenv versions prior to 1.6.2 and 1.18.1_2, with fixes available in those versions.

References

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