virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to 21.14.9, PipInstall._uninstall_previous_version() accepts existing seed-package metadata and _uninstall_dist() joins entries from top_level.txt and RECORD to site-packages without checking containment. When a reused destination contains distribution metadata influenced by another account, relative traversal, absolute entries, or linked parents can cause app-data reseeding to delete files outside the environment or the environment root with the invoking user's permissions, provided that user has deletion rights over the named paths. The deletion occurs during environment creation before any later use of the environment. Fresh environments without existing package metadata and creation with --clear do not enter this cleanup path. This issue is fixed in version 21.14.9.
Fix
Nothing published yet: no patch, vendor advisory or mitigation reference on NVD, no vendor advisory in the News for this CVE, not in CISA's KEV, no fixed package version. BaselineWatch does not guess at one.
Change history 6
- StatusAwaiting Analysis → PublishedNVD modified 2026-10-27 11:01
- StatusPublished → Awaiting AnalysisNVD modified 2026-10-27 11:17
- StatusAwaiting Analysis → PublishedNVD modified 2026-10-27 11:01
- StatusPublished → Awaiting AnalysisNVD modified 2026-10-22 16:47
- StatusReceived → PublishedNVD modified 2026-10-20 19:42
- First seenCVSS 4.5NVD modified 2026-10-20 20:17
Affected (CPE criteria) 0
NVD has not attached CPE configurations yet.
References 5
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/commit/e3cea6fa10a50fa29cf1fdddd772458fba076d5f
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/pull/3428
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/releases/tag/21.14.9
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/security/advisories/GHSA-hhxq-47xx-j5xx
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/security/advisories/GHSA-hhxq-47xx-j5xx