High severity · published Oct 20, 2026
CVE-2026-113726
virtualenv activate runs commands from the environment name in zsh with PROMPT_SUBST
7.8
CVSS
0.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to 21.13.0, the bash activate script that zsh also sources leaves the environment name unescaped; from 21.13.0 until 21.14.4, it escapes backslashes, dollar signs, and backticks only when BASH_VERSION is set, so zsh receives the raw value. The script assigns that value to PS1. In zsh with PROMPT_SUBST, an attacker-influenced environment directory, --prompt, or VIRTUALENV_PROMPT value containing command, parameter, or arithmetic expansion syntax can therefore execute commands in the user's shell each time the prompt is drawn. A percent sign is separately interpreted as a zsh prompt escape but does not by itself execute commands. Plain zsh with PROMPT_SUBST disabled and bash are not affected by this mechanism. This issue is fixed in version 21.14.4.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.3% · higher than 18% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
VI
virtualenv · pypa
< 21.14.4 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-113726
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-113726
github.com
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/commit/5b915367da82bd024b2a0d28d2f98007034b4aa2
github.com
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/releases/tag/21.14.4
github.com
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/security/advisories/GHSA-5vjq-rrrf-7h2q
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