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OpenAdvisories
High · 7.8 CVE-2026-113776 BIT-virtualenv-2026-113776EUVD-2026-106868GHSA-8rjx-v5ww-45pp

virtualenv activation scripts run code from a path that contains a placeholder name

Published Oct 20, 2026 · Updated Oct 28, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M

Description

virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. From 20.26.6 until 21.14.2, ViaTemplateActivator.instantiate_template() replaces placeholders one key at a time across the complete activation template, so trigger names such as __VIRTUAL_NAME__, __VIRTUAL_ENV__, or __VIRTUAL_PROMPT__ inside an already substituted and quoted environment path or prompt can be replaced during a later pass. The later value's quoting can close the earlier literal and execute the remaining path when a user activates the environment through bash, fish, xonsh, or activate_this.py. The distinct csh prompt-display token __VIRTUAL_PROMPT_DISPLAY_TCSH__ can instead break the generated script without establishing command execution. The attacker must influence the destination path or --prompt, and a value without a relevant placeholder name does not trigger this mechanism. This issue is fixed in version 21.14.2.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
pypa virtualenv >= 20.26.6, < 21.14.2 —

Fixed in Linux distributions

Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian 14 python-virtualenv No fix yet —
Debian 13 python-virtualenv No fix yet —
Debian 12 python-virtualenv No fix yet —
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 26.10 python-virtualenv No fix yet —
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS python-virtualenv No fix yet —
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS python-virtualenv No fix yet —
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS python-virtualenv No fix yet —
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS python-virtualenv No fix yet —
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS python-virtualenv No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 22.04 LTS python-virtualenv No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS python-virtualenv No fix yet —

Amazon Linux

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Amazon Linux 2023 python3-virtualenv 20.4.0-3.amzn2023.0.6 ALAS2023-2026-3409
Amazon Linux 2023 python3.13-virtualenv 20.21.1-1.amzn2023.0.5 ALAS2023-2026-3410

Azure Linux

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Azure Linux 3 python-virtualenv 20.36.1-10 —

Affected packages

EcosystemPackageAffectedFixedRecord
PyPI virtualenv >= 20.26.6, < 21.14.2 21.14.2 GHSA-8rjx-v5ww-45pp

Advisories 2

References