Path traversal in Visual Studio Code - CVE-2026-45496
Published: July 17, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU138170
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4.0: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-45496
CWE-ID: CWE-22
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vendor: Microsoft
Affected software:
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code
Detailed vulnerability description
The vulnerability allows a local attacker to bypass a security feature.
The vulnerability exists due to path traversal in sensitive file protections when handling crafted pathnames. A local attacker can supply a pathname that traverses outside a restricted directory to bypass a security feature.
The bypass affects Visual Studio Code sensitive file protections.
How to mitigate CVE-2026-45496
Install security update from vendor's website.