Bug 2544266 (CVE-2026-102938)

Summary: CVE-2026-102938 virtualenv: virtualenv: Arbitrary code execution via configuration injection in prompt values
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security <prodsec-ir-bot>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: medium Docs Contact:
Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedKeywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in virtualenv. An attacker capable of influencing environment configuration or prompt settings can inject unauthorized configuration entries into the environment configuration file by providing values containing line boundaries. This flaw allows the attacker to override core settings such as the base interpreter path, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or environment tampering when the virtual environment is executed.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-30 20:25:59 UTC 
virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to 21.7.11, PyEnvCfg.write() writes prompt values verbatim to the line-oriented pyvenv.cfg format while PyEnvCfg._read_values() parses the file with str.splitlines() and accepts the last value for duplicate keys. An attacker who influences --prompt, VIRTUALENV_PROMPT, or configuration input can insert a recognized line boundary and additional keys, including home, causing consumers to use an attacker-selected base interpreter or corrupted environment metadata. The security impact requires prompt input from outside the operator's trust boundary; directly supplied prompt content primarily corrupts the operator's own environment. This issue is fixed in version 21.7.11.